Foreign vs. Local

If this is really gonna be implemented soon, then is it really worth it for me to go back and serve my country when they don't really need local docs anymore?

Maybe I should explore other options.

Maybe change is good.

Maybe it's a sign.

Just wondering, that's all......

Flu-ish Weather

Demam
Selsema
Sakit kepala
Sakit badan

The weather is driving me up the wall! Surrounded by sneezy+coughy+feverish people ain't helping either. Barely recovering from last week's bout of stomach flu, now this. Sigh.....

It snowed yesterday. Came with winds and thunder all. Just when you thought that spring is finally here, then suddenly snowflakes started falling down from the sky. Was practically covered all white on my way back from class. It was cold, but thank God the temp was above 0 degrees, else I think my body temp will sharply incline making me tres tres sick again. But thankfully all the medication and fluids worked, and only remnants of a mild stuffed/runny nose is present.

Sudah-sudah lah tu, penat la sakit lama-lama nih. Really I tell you, gone lah my liver like this kalau asyik dok sakit and telan PCM sokmo. Isy.....

Salam Takziah

Just got the news from my mom about the passing of my SIL's father in Kedah.

Semoga roh-nya dicucuri rahmat dan ditempatkan bersama orang-orang yag beriman. Amin...

AL-FATIHAH

n/b: Life is short. Treasure every moment. Every second counts. Don't waste time on thinking about what might have been, but think about what it will be instead...

Stomach Flu et moi

Gastroenteritis, or commonly (and mistakenly) known as the stomach flu, is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach and small and large intestines. Most of the cases are infectious, although gastroenteritis may also follow ingestion of drugs and chemical toxins (eg, metals, plant substances).

Infectious gastroenteritis is commonly caused by viruses (Rotavirus, Norovirus, Astrovirus, Adenovirus, CMV), and less commonly by bacterias (Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E.coli O157:H7) and parasites (Giardia, Cryptosporidium).

Generally, there is a sudden onset of symptoms, with anorexia, nausea, vomiting, borborygmi, abdominal cramps, watery diarrhea (with or without blood and mucus), malaise, myalgias, and prostration. The abdomen may be distended and mildly tender; in severe cases, muscle guarding may be present. Gas-distended intestinal loops may be palpable. Borborygmi are present even without diarrhea. Persistent vomiting and diarrhea can result in intravascular fluid depletion with hypotension and tachycardia. In severe cases, shock, with vascular collapse and oliguric renal failure, occurs.

Treatment is symptomatic, although parasitic and some bacterial infections require specific anti-infective therapy. Gastroenteritis is usually uncomfortable but self-limited. Electrolyte and fluid loss is usually little more than an inconvenience to an otherwise healthy adult but can be grave for people who are very young elderly, or debilitated or who have serious concomitant illnesses.

(Source: The Merck Manual of Medical Information)

This was what I had last weekend. A rather bad case of gastroenteritis. First it was diarrhea. I thought it was just a plain case of lactose intolerance (had a glass of milk Friday afternoon) which usually would pass after a few hours, or at least food poisoning. But then the symptoms got worse; non-stop diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps, a pulsating frontal headache, back pain and muscle cramps. And come Saturday afternoon my temperature spiked! I was dehydrated from the diarrhea and had chills all over that I couldn't eat anything. All I could manage was sipping plain lukewarm water now and then, swallowing a couple of tabs of PCM, gulping down home-made ORS (oral rehydration salt) mix, wrapping up myself under the blankets, and slept and slept and slept...

Alhamdulillah, the next morning the fever, headache, cramps, nausea were all gone. Still had some mild diarrhea though. All I could manage was some dry toast and soup. By nightfall I was almost normal, albeit a little bit weak. I was lucky that my recovery was speedy, I guess that my decision to rehydrate and control the fever worked in my favour. That and also the fact that although the urge to vomit was there I tried not to because I knew that if I do I'm gonna be more dehydrated. It may be bad to suppress the urge, but I do know my body well and how it reacts.

Until now I have been trying to figure out what had caused it. The only conclusion that I can come up with is that I may have had a viral gastroenteritis contracted from the hospital or from my colleagues. Why? Because apparently some of my classmates also fell ill with almost the exact same symptoms that I had on the very same day. It definitely wasn't food poisoning because we didn't eat the same food. Coincidence? I think not. Although, according to one of the doctors it could also be the fact that there was an epidemic of stomach flu at the time. And I think he could be right, because of this. Whatever it was, it affected my friends worse than me. Poor things. But as Ms MCL said there is an upside to it; she lost 5 pounds in less than a week! Good for her, but caution to all of you especially the bulimics: vomiting is NEVER the solution to weight loss, comprende?

It's been a long while since I was this sick. Thank goodness I kept some PCMs, aspirins, charcoal tablets, and paid attention during physiology class long time ago. Time and again the home-made ORS mix proved to be useful when no pre-packed ORS are available on-hand. Thanks Prof. Ruby, you're a life saver!

n.b. I'm laying off rice for now. My stomach can't seem to stand it anymore, too starchy I guess. Might go vegetarian for a while. Wonder how long till I'll start craving for some meat...

Busy Bee

I'm wiped out. Tired of running around town for our classes in different hospitals scattered all over the place. Thank goodness the public transport here is quite efficient, although one do have to put up with bau-bauan yang kurang menyenangkan daripada orang-orang yang tak reti nak mandi, ada yang sanggup tak mandi berbulan-bulan sebab nak jimat air. Sheeeeshhhh....

We're having a case presentation tomorrow. It's about a patient in our pediatrics clinic with Tetralogy of Fallot. Interesting case, nice and very accomodating baby. My group has the honour of presenting first, so I would really hope that we'll do good. Will give an update later on how it goes.

Now need to get some zzzzzzzs before revising for tomorrow's presentation, got a killer headache residual from a very bad case of Gastroenteritis (stomach flu) over the weekend. If got time I'll blog about that too.

Oh, did I mention that I HATE public speaking?? Urghhhhhhh...

I Me Wed

I recently came across this movie while searching for something else on youtube. Ran out of things to do so I decided to watch this. Well, what can I say? As soon as I'm done watching all I wanted to do is run off and marry myself! Now that would be a sight, wouldn't it...

This is the story of Isabel Darden, attractive and successful but is 30 years old and still single. The thing is, she's having a blast and doesn't mind being single at all, but her family and friends (both married and single) kept at nagging her and trying to fix her up with guys that are not her type. They meant well I suppose, because they didn't want to see her ending up as a dried-up old spinster (at age 30?? come on!) and want to see her happily married, making babies and living in a house with a white picket fence. But as sweet-natured and patient as she is, alas she got fed-up with their incessant meddling and refusal to believe that she is indeed happy being single and wouldn't want to settle down just because everyone else is that she decided to have a ceremony to marry herself! Intriguing idea indeed...

So, against her family's and friends' wishes she went ahead with her plans. But things got rather complicated: when her ceremony garnered a lot of attention from the media and the public that said what she's doing is a symbol of women empowerment, and offered to sponsor her "wedding" and a gorgeous wedding dress; and it didn't help her either when she finally met a wonderful guy that could possibly be the one. But by then it was too late to do anything but to go ahead with her plans. So, should she just go ahead with it and not tell her guy (which seems to be oblivious of it all) until after the wedding and risking losing him later, or should she tell him about it anyhow and risk losing him now? Hmmmm, a tough choice to make...

But anyways, she did went ahead with her 'self-affirmation' event. Her aim of doing this is not because that she will never ever get married, but it is to make a vow that she will do what she feels right when the time is right with the right person, and not sacrifice the part of her that makes her HER. What touched me the most was the vows that she made to herself:

I, Isabel Darden, love myself.
I honour myself, and I cherish myself.
And most importantly, I promise to really be true to myself, from this moment forward, no matter what...

I wish I'd have the courage to do this. But then again, you don't need a fancy schmancy wedding party to make that vow. You can do it without all the trappings and have that self-affirmation wherever and whenever you want.

But you know what, if by 40 I'm still single, I may have to have one of these myself just to shut people up.
So, anyone wanna be my bridesmaid?

Under The Bridge

The rules:
1. Put your music on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. NO CHEATING!
5. Tag others


IF SOMEONE SAYS “IS THIS OKAY” YOU SAY?
Sweet love (Anita Baker)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Like a stone (Audioslave) ..... hehehehehe, right on the money!

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Dreaming of you (Selena) ..... nope, no more...

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
My happy ending (Avril Lavigne) ..... well, gotta believe that there's something at the end of the rainbow, right?

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Sometime's love ain't enough (Patty Smythe & Don Henley) ..... how true...

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
I'm a bitch! (Meredith Brooks) ..... whoa, really guys?? heheh...

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Only hope (Mandy Moore) ..... yup, that's all that I can do right now, sigh...

WHAT IS 2+2?
No air (Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Big girls don't cry (Fergie) ..... well, not all the time but once in a while apa salahnya kan...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
From this moment (Shania Twain)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Untukmu '94 (KRU) ..... hmmm, memang pun...

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Fire (Babyface & Des'ree) ..... on fire?? a fireman?? selalu kena fire tu ada la...

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
I love rock n roll (Britney Spears) ..... woohoooo! rock on baby! ni baru betul going with a bang, huhu...

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Menghitung hari (Kris Dayanti) ..... mak aih, jiwangnya...

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I'll be (Edwin McCain) ..... whatever that you want me to be... *smirks*

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Give it away (Red Hot Chili Peppers) ..... hah? menyimpan ada ler..

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Life (Des'ree) ..... how appropriate...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Hilang (Diddy) ..... ada orang tu sembunyi dalam gua lagi ke? *wink wink*

WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Dreams (The Cranberries) ..... when it gets crushed before it could ever happen...

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Ode to my family (The Cranberries) ..... no comment ^_^

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Crazy (Aerosmith) ..... craziness freaks me out actually...

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
That don't impress me much (Shania Twain)

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Destiny (Misha Omar) ..... my life is in GOD's hands...

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Khayalan (VE ft. Ruffedge) ..... ROFL!!! surely it's a sign...

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Always (Atlantic Starr) ..... i think of them often too...

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Buttons (Pussycat Dolls)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Promise me (Beverley Craven) ..... don't make promises that you can't keep, okay?

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Back at one (Brian McKnight) ..... from when I was born...

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, WHEN YOU MEET YOUR BOSS?
Big yellow taxi (Counting Crows ft. Vanessa Carlton) ..... take a ride!

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Under the bridge (Red Hot Chili Peppers)


I'm tagging sue, aa, and everyone else who are reading this. You're tagged!

Miss Austen says...

"Where any one body of educated men, of whatever denomination, are condemned indiscriminately, there must be a deficiency of information, or...of something else."

Right on, Jane!!

Drama Queens

Please, keep them away from me before any bodily/verbal assault is leashed.

There are much more important things to think about besides making a HUGE fuss on those very very tiny itsy-bitsy little things. Unless if it's a life and death matter, or right and wrong, anything else is solvable granted that you have the patience to search for the solutions.

No one else can cure someones childishness or their obsession with looks, weight and popularity but themselves. It may not make them a bad person, no, but when their behaviour is affecting the people around them in a negative way then that won't make them a good person either, doesn't it?

No drama please. I'm exhausted. Life is hard enough...*sigh*

Gerammm

Tak paham betol la korang ni. Suka bebenor kacau orang lain sehari dua sebelum periksa. Masa ni baru lah kelam-kabut carik nota lah, jawapan lah, isi penting yg cikgu cakap kat dalam kelas lah...hisy....

Yang sibuk-sibuk sangat ni apa hal?? Apa yg aku ada korang ada jugak kan, buku sama cikgu sama kelas sama. Kalau korang tak tulis apa-apa masa kat dalam kelas tu masalah korang lah, ada aku kisah?? Nama je datang semua kelas on time, dok kat depan lagi tuh tapi satu haprak pun korang tak tulis/paham apa ke halnya. Aku yg dok kat belakang2 ni pun sempat menulis, korang dok kat depan2 tu telek muka cikgu sambil kira taik lalat kat muka depa kot. Kalau benda-benda ni korang tanya sebelum nak periksa boleh je aku layan, tapi ni masa aku nak ulangkaji korang makin serabutkan kepala hotak ni.

BODOH.

Hah, kan dah kena.

Sabor je lah.....