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January 30, 2005
The Meeting People Day
Yesterday must be my MPD. :)
Met a whole lot of KVPUGers I've never met before... including dobbs, yapliren, jeyadev, azxel (aka moomoo), Bendrix... and loads more. And later in the afternoon, went to dobbs' place and met Jellio and D, dobbs' son. Oh yes, I also met Veggie Tales. :P I'm beginning to think that I've got a somewhat deprived childhood, why haven't I ever heard of VT ahz? *blur*
Posted by yeepei at 08:25 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
January 28, 2005
Smokin' Ladies
In one of Aunty Lilian’s recent posts, she said that it is different when men and women smoke. This is actually more appropriate as a comment on Aunty Lilian’s blog, but it will be too long to fit into one comment, so well, why not have it here.
Initially, I quoted her entire post here, but while trying to shorten this post, I removed it. Please check out her post here.
After reading the post, the impressions I got were:
1. Men smoke due to pressure to earn money and smoking helps men think of fantastic idea in order to earn money.
2. Women are not under similar pressure, therefore they should not smoke.
3. Young women pick up smoking in order to measure up to their peers (aka so-called women’s rights)
4. The effects of women smoking is greater than that of men smoking.
5. Women are beneath men such that we should be judged by different standards. (This is how I interpreted the post, all writings are left to the reader's interpretation, right?)
Firstly, I feel that although pressure may be a contribute to smoking, it is not a good enough reason to pick up smoking. In fact, there are no good external factors that can be used as a reason for a person to start smoking. Don’t blame stress, don’t blame friends, and don’t blame fanciful advertisements from tobacco companies. These may be contributing factors, but ultimately, if a person picks up smoking, it is because the person chose to do so. Be it due to the person’s lack of willpower, the person’s curiousity, the person’s inherent hate for his/her health or just because the person wants to smoke, it is an internal thing.
Next, many modern day women work and make financial contributions to the family. These women are under the same pressure as their male counterparts to make ends meet. On top of this, many of them also need to juggle the pressure of looking after the family, because, fact it, asian societies still expect mothers and not fathers to be the ones tending to the children’s needs, and to be the one doing the housework. (Granted that there are maids and that people are becoming more open about househusbands, but we’re still not there yet.)
Thirdly, on measuring up to their peers, yes, maybe in a few cases it may be so. However, another way to look at it is that society is becoming more open to women smoking and unlike the olden days, young girls are now allowed to go out and mix with people thereby coming in contact with friends that smoke and hence being given more opportunities to pick up smoking. In many other ways, women are measuring up to men, think of how girls excel in school, how women climb corporate ladders, and even the rising number of female politicians. However, women may not excel just because we want to show that we are as capable as men, it may be just because society is finally slowly opening up to allow equal chances for women to prove ourselves, compared to 50 years ago, more opportunities are now available to women.
On the next point, what is the difference between the consequences of women smoking and of men smoking? Smoking mothers result in unhealthy children. Yes, smoking fathers may not be the reason of having children with congenital defects, but are the effects of a father smoking less detrimental to the family? Both parents play an important role in the structure of a family and in the upbringing of a child. No matter who smokes, no matter who suffer health problems, the entire family will have to bear the consequences. A smoking father increases passive smoking of the children, a smoking father is a bad example for the children, a sick father adds to the burden of the family etc. Are congenital effects worse than having a broken family or a constantly ill father? I don’t know, but like Hai Liang will say, if anyone’s interested, that’s a topic for another day.
Lastly, are women beneath men? Should we be judged by different standards? Men and women are different, we're made differently. As a result, there are some things men may be better at (eg. physical strength) but at the same time, there are also things in which women do better. No, women are not beneath men. Nature made us different, not inferior. Therefore, the only times when different standards are used should be when the "differences" I pointed out earlier gives either gender an unfair advantage.
To end off, I’m not saying that it is right for women to smoke, it isn’t. The picture of a woman smoking turns me off more than that of a man smoking. Don’t fault me for it, I grew up in a society which accepts male smokers more readily than female smokers, I get affected. However, logically speaking, it is equally bad for either gender to smoke and there is nothing that is “alright” for men to do but not so for women. And no, we do not need to fight for women’s rights, because women already have rights to begin with, we need to fight for the progression of society to accept recognize these rights.
Posted by yeepei at 11:26 PM | Comments (12) | TrackBack
YP's Stuff-To-Work-On List
:) While chatting on IM with 2 different people and 2 different times within the last 24 hours, the topic on character/personality came up. Here's a list of stuff they said about me and IMHO, stuff about me that I need to work on.
I am:
1. Unpredictable
2. Sometimes friendly, sometimes not
3. Self-centered
4. Ready-to-blame
5. Trigger happy
6. Emotional
Yupz, a list of 6, not one thing good. Nah, not bitter. :) I actually agree with quite a bit of what was said. It's good to know what people think of you. Mmm.. close friends will know how I appreciate frankness. Anyway, time to work on my horrible character, I guess.
Posted by yeepei at 02:44 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 26, 2005
For money? Are you sure?
First read about this in MMR and then went to the NST article Palmdoc linked. I remember asking some M2/04 juniors why they choose to do medicine and there were some who said they were attracted by the money. Those of us who were there thought it was pretty amusing and I think we even said "You wanna get rich... it'll be easier if you do business. Better investment lah"
With fees that are skyhigh and future salary that is at the other end of the spectrum, I don't see why anyone can even use "money" as a reason for wanting to study medicine. Think long course, long working hours, bad pay, huge responsibilities... unless there's a great amount of interest, it is one bad bad choice to make in life.
Now, the article...
Houseman's salary scale being revised
It was an embarrassing admission, but Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek managed to keep a straight face when he said a fast food outlet worker may actually earn more than a houseman. Fielding questions during a dialogue with staff of the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital here today, Dr Chua said the Government realised the low allowance paid to trainee doctors doing their housemanship in a government hospitals.
He said his Ministry is in the process of revising its scale.
"Please be patient, it may take some time but we are trying our best in this matter," he added.
A trainee doctor currently receives an allowance of RM25 when assigned to a round-the-clock on-call duty.
In contrast, a staff nurse is paid RM7 per hour when on such duty.
On another note, let's hope that the salary will be adjusted such that it's something human beings can live on in today's world. Come on, after your parents pay for your omg-so-high fees for 5 years, it's only right that you can support yourself when you start work right?
Posted by yeepei at 03:41 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
January 25, 2005
Pls excuse my drooling...
I've never been attracted to smartphones, at least not until now. I've always believed in having 2 pieces of gadgets. I mean, hey, if I lose one, at least I'll still have the other, right? And smartphones are big and bulky and specs-wise, they aren't as great as PDAs... (no, any PPCs aren't smart, so any PPCs with phone functions are not considered as smartphones. Smart stuff dun need constant resets, you see. :P)
Now... There are 3 babies that I'm drooling after. :) Just thinking of them is making me drool. *gets a mop to mop up all the saliva*
Top on the list is the Treo 650 by palmOne.
Not exactly a very pretty fellow, but hey, I like it so much, I'll even love the ugly antenna. *continues drooling*
Next up, the QDA-700 by Qool Labs.
Much prettier looking, IMO. But specs.. Hmm.. Oh ya, both of them run on PalmOS. Major factor. :P
Last but no least is the 7710 by Nokia.
Only flaw in this babe is that it runs on symbian (I think), therefore it won't be able to replace my T3 So sad eh?
Now now, I won't be getting any of these for 2 simple reason. The first 2 aren't in Malaysia yet and the third one doesn't run on PalmOS. Furthermore... no money lah. If I wanna get a smart phone, I'll have to sell my T3 to top up the amount of money I've saved up for my new phone.
*Look st T3* No darling, I love you so much I won't be selling you. Don't worry.
Posted by yeepei at 08:49 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
Something Simple
I've gotten sick of my old template so here's something else. :) It's much simpler and I guess it can be classified as one of the typical MT templates. I kinda like the simplicity.. and if time permits, I'll really sit down and work on a template. But then again... I'm also thinking of switching to wordpress. So... *shrug*
I'm still playing with blogrolling, that's why only the med peepz links are up. The rest will be up soon. :)
Posted by yeepei at 04:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
East West Horoscopes
Got the link in an email from Dooku kor.
Western Sign: Virgo
Eastern Sign: Rat
You are full of contradictions. In addition to three planets in your own fastidious sign, you have three in Sagittarius, adding a dash of adventurousness-maybe even a wild streak-to your usual sense of propriety. It may take a while for your inner 'odd couple" to strike a deal, but they will grow to appreciate each other in time. Your Felix impulses toward purity, exquisite detail, and perfection are truly complementary to your Oscar enthusiasm, big-picture thinking, and expansiveness.
You may surprise yourself at some point, breaking with your normally cautious way of life in a sudden bolt for freedom. And then you may just find yourself feeling more at home in the world at large. Virgo's usual affinity for refining, purification, and healing is enhanced by the extra planets in your sign. You may feel called to medicine or decide to devote your analytical abilities to biological research. Or you may be drawn to environmental work.
A rebellious Sagittarius helps you break out of the mold, while a serious Scorpio seems able to read your mind. Your greatest challenge is to integrate the micro with the macro; the particular with the general. Your greatest gift is the way you transform your cold feet into bold feats.
True or not? Heehee, those who know me decide. :)
Posted by yeepei at 09:48 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
January 24, 2005
Some people shouldn't be allowed to live
In the news today:
The numbers are shocking.There were 290 cases of child rape in the first three months of last year in which the perpetrators were the fathers or other relatives. This compares with 768 for the whole of 2003.
The breakdown: 72 cases where the offenders were the fathers, 112 stepfathers, 42 uncles, 20 brothers-in-law, six step-brothers, 33 cousins and five grandfathers.
Suddenly, I think of the castration motion we did during one of the trainings. HRMPH. Not only should these people be castrated, maybe someone should stab them repeatedly and pour salt over their wounds. It's bad enough to be raped, imagine being raped by your own family member!!! OMG.
Posted by yeepei at 09:49 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Phone Probz
Sent my handphone in for servicing again today. I've been delaying it for months now, yes, me and my procrastination (HI JASON!! :P).
First the keypad's cranky (2nd service for this now..), next, the reception is not too good (although the nokia will be fine in the exact same place and time), then I start having problems hearing what anyone who calls me has to say. Since my warranty ends at the end of this month, I figured that if I continue delaying the service, I'll end up with a useless phone or a big hole in my pocket. So yupz, phone's in the hospital. Only problem is that it'll be in there until Wednesday. Don't they have a phone loaning service? Well...
Me: When will my phone be ready?
Guy: Wednesday. There's only one technician at work today and many phones for him to work on.
Me: Ok.. and you guys loan phones right?
Guy: Yes we do. But we've only got 5 sets and all of them have been loaned out.
Me: Ok.. *roll eyes*
Guy: I'll try to get him to get your phone done by today. Leave your contact number, we'll call when it's ready.
Me: (thinking to myself, thank goodness I've got another HP.) Ok...
Nopez, no call.. it's almost 10pm. Guess I'll have to wait till wednesday then. Sigh...
This is the first time I've had to get my HP repaired and repaired... with the warranty period over, if the problem still can't be solved, maybe I should just forget it and get a new phone. Sigh.
Posted by yeepei at 09:31 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
ARGH
Argh argh argh... While I was deleting spam, I accidentally deleted 16 other non-spam comments. ARGH. Now I feel so dumb. *bang head against wall*
Posted by yeepei at 08:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 18, 2005
Lazing Around
Last year I was complaining about not having anything to do. This time 'round, I'm glad there's nothing to do. Lazing around is good. Dictionary.com says lazing is to be lazy, loaf, now... what is wrong with that? Like I was telling Ma earlier, it's been ages since I last had a holiday and the next one is in a year's time. So there. No temp job for me this holiday (or next holiday, for that matter). Apart from the trips I mentioned earlier, I've got nothing planned, which essentially means that I'll be free from now till 8th Feb (yup, off to Europe on 8th Feb). :) Oh no, I'll be busy. I've got shopping and packing to do. ;) heehee.
Message of the day... don't come nag at me for wanting to waste my time. It isn't a waste. Even loafing is a way to use time.
Edit: Yupz, still got some sites to revamp. *yawn* I'm procrastinating...
Posted by yeepei at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 16, 2005
Holidays
holi·day n. 1: leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
All the way till March. All the way till March, you hear? I've been complaining about the lack of holidays since the end of semester 2 so most of you can imagine how happy I am to be away on my long break at last. If my calculations are moderately accurate, we have about 2 months ' break each year. Yup, studying, regular ICAs with "holidays" occupied by attachments and rotations from March till January, followed by a slightly-less-than 2 months' break. With the next one being a year away, I told myself that I'll be making full use of this one. I've got 2 major plans...
1. CNY trip to Europe
2. Elective to Chennai (Pending parental approval)
Since there is about 3 weeks before the first of my plans start.. I'll be catching up on my sleep for now.
But... Hols isn't all good. For me, holidays means I'll be back at home. Home's wonderful but the only problem is that most of my friends are in KL. As it is, I'm starting to miss everyone. *sobz*
Posted by yeepei at 07:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 14, 2005
A Happy Post
Like CHiQ jie said, I've found something better than weed (not that I actually know what weed is like), but this something I found, is really making me very high. I'm bouncing off the walls!!! But before I forget...
Thanks Sheena & Adrian & Jacq & SJ & CK & Sien & Grace & KC & Daniel & everyone for the wonderful wonderful support. :) You guys are great. To think Adrian woke up early just to show his support for my viva, thanks dude. As for Sheena, aiya, don't need to say lahz. Sometimes, you wonder where she finds the right things to say at the right times all the time. Thanks for all the phonecalls and smses I recieved. I know my phone was switched off on Monday night, I know I didn't reply all the msgs, but I appreciate them, seriously.
And to a special someone, I don't know how to say this... I really really appreciate you. I know you're dealing with problems at this point in time also, problems that I don't really know how to help you with. I'm touched, that even though you have enough on your hands to drive yourself nuts, you still listen to my whining and show such great support. Thanks for all the encouragement, and thanks for being confident in me. I loved the time we had together yesterday evening.
Posted by yeepei at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
January 12, 2005
Cheaper Apples?
From NST:
Apple releases 99-dollar iPod shuffle
Apple unveiled a 99-dollar version of its hot-selling iPod digital music player, the gadget that catapulted the firm back into big profits, and a cheap mini-desktop.
It is available in two forms, a 512 megabyte version able to hold 120 songs for 99 dollars and a one-gigabyte, 240-song version for 149 dollars.
"iPod shuffle is smaller and lighter than a pack of gum and costs less than 100 dollars," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a statement released at the Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
"With most flash-memory music players users must use tiny displays and complicated controls to find their music; with iPod shuffle you just relax and it serves up new combinations of your music every time you listen."
Apple, based in Cupertino, California, said the shuffle feature randomly selects songs from the user's music music library or playlists. The music also can be played in order.
Users can also charge and transfer music from their computer by plugging it directly into a USB port.
The existing iPods, which allows users to carry a mobile song library in their pocket, hit retail stores in October 2001. Prices range from 299 dollars to 499 dollars depending on the model.
The new iPod shuffle was immediately available.
Considering the current price for iPods and Mini iPods, this piece of news must be wonderful for Apple lovers. However, looking at it from another point of view, it will still be one of the more expensive mp3 players in the market. 400RM for a 512mb mp3 player? When Creative's Muvos which come with an FM reciever are going at much cheaper prices? Hmm... I don't know.
Posted by yeepei at 08:19 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Upset
I know I haven't been updating this blog, I know my msn nick is disturbing, but I'm fine. People that know what happened will know why I'm upset, underachieving is never a good feeling, disappointing people around you is never a good feeling, disappointing yourself is never a good feeling. But hey, I'll get through all of it fine. Ok? Don't worry, guys. Thanks for all the SMSes, MSN/ICQ msgs etc. I'll be back to normal in no time. :)
BTW, Rantings has been getting more and more spam comments, so I'm actually thinking of putting in place typekey. What do you guys think?
Posted by yeepei at 07:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
January 05, 2005
Wouldn't It Be Loverly...
With OSCE to go, and bad SAQ and OSPE papers... gosh, I just wanna pass..
All I want is to pass exam,
Far away from the dreaded fail,
With one enormous grade
Owh wouldn't it be loverly.
Elective for me to do,
Two months' rest ahead of me,
Good grades, good times, good rest
Owh wouldn't it be loverly.
"My Fair Lady" lovers, don't flame me ya...
Posted by yeepei at 08:08 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
January 01, 2005
2004 In Retrospect
Now that it's 1st Jan 2005, I guess it is time to look back at what happened in the past year... To say that 2004 was an eventful year for me is truly an understatement. I won't go through each and every major incident in the year, some of it is still too painful to talk about. Let's see what I learnt in the past year.
2004 taught me to appreciate my loved ones. It taught me that it is never too early to show someone you care, that you love him, because you never know when it is too late. It taught me that when a person looks alright, and happy and bubbly, it often means something else altogether. It taught me that facing the problem is the only way to solve it, running away is but a way to delay facing it. It taught me who are true friends, and who are but random-people-you-go-out-with. It taught me to let go, hanging on to something I lost will only hurt me more. It taught me to ignore is sometimes better than to take offense. It taught me that no one make sacrifices for good friends, because no matter what you do, those are definitly not sacrifices. It taught me to take a look deep inside myself, to find out for myself who I am. It taught me to give myself a chance to be who I am, who I really want to be.
What has 2004 given you?
Happy New Year! :D
Posted by yeepei at 01:40 PM | Comments (11) | TrackBack