and so it has been decided... the Bash Brothers will reunite again!
Friday, October 31, 2008
First and foremost, my apologies for sidelining this blog for such a long time. I guess there were so many things occupying the minutes in my life, and I sometimes could not even get a breather, let alone find the time to blog about my experiences.
Nonetheless, here I am today... so here goes. :)
The matching process was finally done with, and the results were out two days ago. As it is, I have been awarded a place at:
The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
to further my studies in the field of medicine. Finally, I would be setting foot in foreign land to gain more knowledge and exposure the way I've always dreamt of since my tender years in school.
It has been a great and bittersweet 2 1/2 years here at IMU Bukit Jalil for me. So many things have changed in my life. I'm not just talking about my weight and my hair (which obviously had became much like spinous processes protruding out of my scalp lol), but everything else as well. The people I mingled with (which continually expanded as the semesters went by), my approach toward the field of medicine and etc.
Of course, as for all students, there were the good times and the bad times. I guess its all part-and-parcel of the university experience. These are the things that would formulate the memory of IMU, which I hope to carry with me wherever I go.
I had just hung up the call with my best friend Hardip Singh Gendeh, who is currently reading medicine at the University of Nottingham, UK as well. We talked about the old times in college, and the various necessities I would need when I move over to Notts come January 2009. We will definitely be staying at the same flat from September 2009 onwards, but till then I would have to look for accomodation at the student halls provided by the university.
Ahh, a word on the University of Nottingham, UK. Established way back in 1798, the University of Nottingham was initially an integral part of The University of London consortium until it decided to part ways with the central London campus in 1948. With an undergraduate student population of over 24000, this university is one of the best regarded universities in the UK after 'Oxbridge'.
The Times Good University Guide: going in less than twenty years "from being a solid civic university to a prime alternative to oxbridge"
Yeah, there you go. This campus has been awarded the coveted "university of the year" award multiple times, once notably in 2006. Hence the heavy influx of many Malaysian students to the University of Nottingham upon completing their 'A' Levels course in 2006 at various private colleges around the country.
I honestly do feel glad, having obtained a spot at this university. It was such a fortunate event, and it could never have turned out any better than this. :) Can't wait to get over to Nottingham next January... and to the rest of my batchmates, congratulations for obtaining your respective places at the various PMSes all around the globe as well. I sure will miss you all. :)
The picture you see above is that of the Trent Bulding, located within the University Park. It is one of the structural hallmarks of the university. Beautiful ain't it? :)
But more importantly, the BASH BROTHERS are back and they are mightier than ever this time! Yes... for the first time since 'A' Levels at Taylor's College, Hardip and I will be attending the same classes and hospital rotations. It will be the 'BASH BROTHERS DOMINATION' phenomenon occuring again! (just beware ey... Nott-ians lol)
Yup, just like old times... only that we would be wearing medical attire for real this time.
Are Doctors Supposed To Be Perfect?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Here is a great article that I would like to share with you all, which I received from MedScape Medical Students Online. It was sent in by Lucia Li (presumably from the United States) :
"To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved."
Janus, the Roman god of doors, is represented with two faces. Reminds me of medical students. There’s the face we present in hospitals -– decent, wise, moral, caring, confident. And washed. Then there’s the one we have when we get home –- tired or angry or uncertain or petty. Essentially flawed.
There has been a recent debate in the UK regarding the withdrawal of an offer made to a prospective medical student by Imperial College London, when the admissions offices found that he had a previous criminal record. The student had taken part in a robbery at the age of 16, for which he’d completed the community service required and had done substantial amounts of volunteering work since. He was also a straight A-grade student. Opinion was divided about the decision. Some argued that ICL was wrong because the decision sent out the wrong message. Here was a person who had not only atoned for his punishment but had also turned his life around from his criminal past. The withdrawal, his supporters argued, showed that society was unforgiving of juvenile delinquents and would not allow people to change their ways, forever tarring them with the mistakes of their youth. On the other hand, there were those who thought that ICL had acted correctly because those within the medical profession should deserve the trust which our patients give to us; we should be above reproach.
But, of course, we’re not. Although most of the time, most of us are the consummate professionals and decent, moral practitioners that society wants us to be, we are still fallible because we are human.
We drink. We smoke. We lie. We are cynical. We eat chips. Everyone has moments of weakness. But, how much does this matter when it occurs in our personal life? Should the things we do as people outside the medical arena impact our reputations within it? Where does personal life end and professional life begin?
As long as one can always assume the role of the competent, caring and confident doctor at work, does it matter what one is like at play? Is it right for a speeding offense to be listed on the internet, accessible to the general public? How much does one’s behavior outside the medical world say about one’s competence as a clinician?
This leads to another issue. Let’s say a medic drinks more than they should on their days off, maybe even been brought into A&E with alcohol-inflicted injuries, but never turns up on duty drunk and disorderly. Can trust still be maintained despite this apparent separation? Or is there too much of a risk of the consequences of this behavior bleeding into the professional sphere?
The third issue relates to the perceived "severity" of the off-duty behavior. You might continue to trust your colleague if you knew they drank a bit too much at Christmas. Maybe even if they were compulsive gamblers or drove like a maniac. But what about behaviors which hint at a truly nasty side? What if they made racist remarks? Or participated in fraud?
The majority of doctors and medical students are, fortunately, free from serious bad behaviors. But even the purest of us will have aspects of our character which we would wish to remain hidden from our patients and colleagues. In fact, this selective presentation of ourselves to the world is usually intertwined with our notions of personal privacy. But should doctors lose this behavioral anonymity, open up to scrutiny and be judged whiter than white before earning the right to be doctors?
There has been a recent debate in the UK regarding the withdrawal of an offer made to a prospective medical student by Imperial College London, when the admissions offices found that he had a previous criminal record. The student had taken part in a robbery at the age of 16, for which he’d completed the community service required and had done substantial amounts of volunteering work since. He was also a straight A-grade student. Opinion was divided about the decision. Some argued that ICL was wrong because the decision sent out the wrong message. Here was a person who had not only atoned for his punishment but had also turned his life around from his criminal past. The withdrawal, his supporters argued, showed that society was unforgiving of juvenile delinquents and would not allow people to change their ways, forever tarring them with the mistakes of their youth. On the other hand, there were those who thought that ICL had acted correctly because those within the medical profession should deserve the trust which our patients give to us; we should be above reproach.
But, of course, we’re not. Although most of the time, most of us are the consummate professionals and decent, moral practitioners that society wants us to be, we are still fallible because we are human.
We drink. We smoke. We lie. We are cynical. We eat chips. Everyone has moments of weakness. But, how much does this matter when it occurs in our personal life? Should the things we do as people outside the medical arena impact our reputations within it? Where does personal life end and professional life begin?
As long as one can always assume the role of the competent, caring and confident doctor at work, does it matter what one is like at play? Is it right for a speeding offense to be listed on the internet, accessible to the general public? How much does one’s behavior outside the medical world say about one’s competence as a clinician?
This leads to another issue. Let’s say a medic drinks more than they should on their days off, maybe even been brought into A&E with alcohol-inflicted injuries, but never turns up on duty drunk and disorderly. Can trust still be maintained despite this apparent separation? Or is there too much of a risk of the consequences of this behavior bleeding into the professional sphere?
The third issue relates to the perceived "severity" of the off-duty behavior. You might continue to trust your colleague if you knew they drank a bit too much at Christmas. Maybe even if they were compulsive gamblers or drove like a maniac. But what about behaviors which hint at a truly nasty side? What if they made racist remarks? Or participated in fraud?
The majority of doctors and medical students are, fortunately, free from serious bad behaviors. But even the purest of us will have aspects of our character which we would wish to remain hidden from our patients and colleagues. In fact, this selective presentation of ourselves to the world is usually intertwined with our notions of personal privacy. But should doctors lose this behavioral anonymity, open up to scrutiny and be judged whiter than white before earning the right to be doctors?
My MTB experience!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
It's been a rather long time I know... but somehow I guess I didn't really know what to write or say, hence the hiatus from blogging.
Anyway, I spent the early part of yesterday morning with 3 of my friends at the Bukit Kiara recreational park. As opposed to many of the visitors there jogging/walking up the slopy 5km tarmac loop, we went biking into the hill's well-known 'cross country' (XC) trail.
Well, I do apologise for not being able to get any pictures of my own (the above were taken off the Internet from people who have biked at Bukit Kiara) since it was my first time there and I was more concerned about learning how to bike in the trail rather than taking pictures of myself. :P
We met at the '1st guardhouse' which is at the foot of a tarmac road slope of about 150 metres at 0730hrs. By that time, many people were already walking down the slope towards their parked cars. Wow.
So, we started biking slowly up the slope when everyone arrived and reached the '2nd guardhouse', which is located at the top of the slope. One of the trail entrances could be seen there.
From the 2nd guardhouse, we continued on up the now steeper slope for about another 2km before we reached the 'T-junction'. Bikers can be seen taking a breather at a gazebo before entering the trail at this junction.
From the 2nd guardhouse, we continued on up the now steeper slope for about another 2km before we reached the 'T-junction'. Bikers can be seen taking a breather at a gazebo before entering the trail at this junction.
I guess it's really a known code that all bikers greet one another, despite not knowing each other. Nice thing I guess. :)
So, we chatted there for a while with the other bikers (about 10 people in total there... going into the trail in their respective 5-in-a-group gangs), and some asked me about my new ride... the Cannondale F7. They claimed my bike frame is tough and light, which makes it a very good XC machine. :P
What you saw in the pictures above was literally what we went through. There are many many trails within the recreational park, so we had our more experienced friend Allan be the guide whilst his friend Yoong was the 'sweeper' at the back. Chin Kung and I were in the middle since we were both less familiar with the track.
Chin Kung slipped on the mud twice though... ouch*. I was fortunate enough to keep some pace and not fall down :P. At certain points, descending the mountain was pretty tough and scary... and at times I was fearful if my hydraulic brakes would give way. Ascending the trail tracks wasn't any much of consolation either, since it was slippery. gosh...
But all in all it was really fun... no doubt. We spent about an hour plus covering a few kilometres worth of trail track before exiting the jungle and going back into civilisation. Honestly, it's a great sport for the young men/women out there, and I do look forward to more trail biking again in the future!
Ahh, just some bit of information to clear the doubts (if any) :)...
XC biking is one of the many disciplines of mountain biking, the others being 'downhill racing' (DH), 'free ride' (FR) and 'all-mountain' (AM). In a nutshell, XC biking is all about terrain and trails, DH biking is all about speed, twisty turns and steep slopes, FR biking sports more of stunt riding whilst AM biking is a mixture of pure XC and some elements of DH.
Having said that the bicycles required for each discipline varies as well.
XC bikes are normally hardtails. This would mean that there is no rear suspension available on the bike. Power transfer is obviously more efficient (no loss of energy while pedalling as elastic potential energy of the spring damper) and you would be able to climb hills quicker.
DH bikes are normally weirder in geometry and shape, as they are made to descend hills rather than climb them with sheer speed and comfort. Front suspension travel is enormous, while the rear usually is fitted with a large aluminium/steel/titanium coil spring.
FR bikes are pretty much urban stunt bikes, but sometimes people do use DH bikes to go free-riding in the mountains instead of in urban settings.
AM bikes are the 'all-rounders'. They have decent front suspension travel (amount of compression the suspension can take) both at the front and at the rear (normally in the form of an air spring).
More updates!
Monday, September 1, 2008
Woke up on a cloudy Thursday morning to find Thomas sitting comfortably on the chair outside my house. It appears he sat there to avoid getting wet from the previous night's rain. :) Cute eh?
So, Jordan and I decided to pedal to his house at Country Heights Damansara from my place at 8 in the morning. After a quick milk drink, I headed out onto the road with him and away we cycled. The morning breeze was refreshing as we cruised along the road at about 15-20 km/h.
It took us about 1.5 hours to reach his place, which was extremely hilly. After passing by the Country Heights guardhouse, both of us found ourselves gasping for air and we decided to push the bike up the slope.
I'm not kidding, it was really difficult. Hmmm... imagine yourself cycling up a 30 degree-ish inclination... with a hydration pack filled with a litre plus of water and some basic necessities on your back. ;)
We jumped into the swimming pool for a much needed refreshing swim. Ahhh... it was so fun. Plus, they had a jacuzzi at the pool as well, underneath that little roof.
Men in shorts... fancy shorts that is. Mine had flower motifs with Hawaiian girls all around, while Jordan felt a little more Seargent-like and went for camo boardshorts instead.
Since Mum went to UK with my sister for a week (to get my sister settled in at Bristol), I've decided to cycle out to Secret Recipe for dinner. Tom Yum spaghetti. It's not too bad. Give it a try :).
On another note, the dangers of biking... and this one is considered very very mild. I scratched myself against the aluminium pedals of my bike, which are spiked to improve grip and performance during trail riding.
Ouch... the 3 marks are STILL here after a week... it seemed as though I got slashed by a baby Wolverine or something... oh well.
A new set of wheels and some good food!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
So it was an ordinary rainy afternoon like any other...
It's been rather wet and humid in KL these days, to my dismay. It would mean that the mountain biking trails at Bukit Kiara are damp, hence I would have a higher tendency of skidding on the mud and subsequently kissing the earth. gahh...
Mum, sister and I went over to One Utama for lunch @ Canton-i in the afternoon.
Cantonese delights at an affordable price, with a cooling and nice environment to match. :)
At that point of time, I was still waiting for the one phone call from KSH Bicycles to notify me that my F7 was ready for collection.
Conspicuous signage in front of the shop says it all.
Well yeah... sister likes this place a lot.
Well yeah... sister likes this place a lot.
I ordered this... the mango sago cream. It was good! It's a natural blend of mangoes for the base, topped with slices of mangoes and bits of pomelo. The mint leaves are merely garnishing though.
Mangoes rock, and so does this... well obviously. :)
The fried prawn dumplings were really nice too.
I guess soup wanton has always been the trademark dish at every Cantonese food outlet.
And the usual wanton noodle with BBQ pork. :)
Earlier in the morning though, I dropped by at KSH Bicycles TTDI to check on my Cannondale F7. It was not assembled yet when I got there... but was still sitting nicely in the box. About 1 metre and a half by three-quarter metres big is how I'd describe the box.
There you have it... code reads 8FS7L/BLU. It is an 8-speed Cannondale F7 CO2 bike in Patriot Blue colour option. The frame size is "L" for large... which is suitable for individuals approximately between 170cm to 180cm tall. :)
When we took it out of the box, this was how it looked like. Some assembly work needed of course. My case required a little more effort though, since I had the original Tektro rubber V-brakes swapped for Shimano hydraulic rotor-disc brakes and the WTB rims swapped for lightweight Mavic 117-DT Swiss rims. Everything else was kept the way it was.
Ahh... the Cannondale emblem. All-American mountain biking flavour.
This was the final product when I collected it from the shop. All in all, it costed about RM2780 for the whole package.
Will likely be hitting the Bukit Kiara mountain trails sometime soon... possibly during the weekends with some fellow bikers. Wish me luck!
-D@nis-
-D@nis-
Man and Machine
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
This was what I had in mind... cross-country (XC) trail biking.
Think about it. Just you and your machine in perfect harmony, flanked all-round by greens and woods. The perfect way to spend your leisure time, ain't it?
It is rumoured that the XC trail at Bukit Kiara is pretty fun and isn't extremely difficult, so perhaps I might give that a try soon.
Biking isn't exactly something new in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail. That was a random fact I found out very recently. Lots of youngsters straddling big and heavy downhill mountain bikes can be seen on Sundays at the Bukit Kiara recreational park and forest reserve, which is just 5 minutes away from my house.
They come complete with branded bicycles, full-face helmets, Oakley goggles, gloves and biking jerseys to match. Not to mention the shin guards and knee pads as well. Ahh, it all looks so fun.
Well, biking has always been second nature to me all these years. I used to ride around TTDI when I was 11 in the evenings. Unfortunately, it took a back seat for many years, and it wasn't until my bike was repaired again that the passion for 2-wheeled racing ignited again.
Fortunately, Mum and Dad have agreed to invest in a new mountain bike for me. :) *yay*
Due to the fact that mountain bikes are rather expensive, I had to choose something that was suitable for my usage, and more importantly within Dad's budget.
So, I've decided to have a taste of American technology and chose the Cannondale F5 CO2. No, I have yet to purchase the bike... I am still in the process of looking for it. :)
A couple of reasons as to why this bike is a good and practical proposition for me:
1. Its a Cannondale aluminium bicycle... which would mean that I don't have to strain every muscle in my body excessively just to cycle/carry its lightweight frame along.
2. It has a 9 rear gear @ 27-speed manual transmission (more than my current 7 rear gear @ 21-speed bike). That would mean better straight-line speed and versatility.
3. It has a reputable and reliable front suspension fork. The Rock Shox Dart 3 is a good choice for XC biking. It is lightweight and durable.
4. The colour option is not bad... jet black bikes always looked sexy.
5. There are standard Shimano disc-braking systems installed in. No more rubber brakes that you find on kiddy bikes.
6. It is much more affordable than most mountain bikes... being priced at RM2800. (Trust me... most other bikes... especially full suspension ones are above RM7-10k)
7. It has a lifetime warranty.
8. It suits my mainly on-road and occasional rough terrain use.
Unfortunately, I am not able to purchase this model from the shop outside my house, and I've decided to try contacting Singapore bicycle shops in my effort to search for one. Dad's been asking around too. :)
Anyone with contacts for bicycle shops let me know? Thanks!
Of burgers and chips...
Yup, I've decided to write an entry in after a week of hiatus from blogging. On the whole, it was a pretty quiet day for me and nothing very exciting occured.
I decided to head off to One Utama for lunch, alone, because my mum and sister went down to KL to get my sister's UK Visa finalised. So yeah, if you spotted some guy there today in blue and black Adidas attire with a pair of earphones plugged in, happily munching on a burger, thats me. :)
Carl's Junior is the better option when it comes to fast food. No doubts about that. Well, it is marginally pricier than McDonald's but for some extra bit of cash forked out, you do get a bigger chicken sandwich, tastier french fries and free-flowing drinks. Not to mention a less hectic environment (especially after 2pm), and better chilli sauce (or so I thought...).
Headed off for a jog earlier today evening and covered a few kilometres worth of tarmac. Obviously my fitness levels need a boost, and I do hope that when the new Cannondale F6 aluminium mountain bike comes along (pretty soon I hope...) I'll be able to work on my biking more intensively. :)
Signing off.
