Your Eyes

It's nearly the end of 2012.
For some of us, it's been more than a year working as houseman. I'd have to say, the longer it is, the more comfortable and familiar you are with your job. But that doesn't mean it doesn't go without any trials and tribulations.

In the few months that have lapsed since my last entry, believe it or not, we've been to Sabah twice. First, to Kota Kinabalu, sort of an impromptu decision when Zeti was checking out the flight ticket. There were quite a number of Frontiers in KK so meeting them up was a pleasure- memories to hold on to. KK trip wasn't really for sight-seeing, rather, it was more of a mini reunion. Nevertheless, we went up to Kundasang -a beautiful place indeed- and stayed at a marvelous place called Little Hut. You can google it up ;)

//Missing Hanum, Nisa & Amal

//At Desa Cattle Farm. The chocolate milk is the best! And loving the scenery at the back =D

The second trip was to Sandakan- Frontiers' first attempt at batch reunion. Hats off to K.I who was basically the backbone of the gathering. Reunion isn't complete without something that we could benefit from, so...
                                               

//Sunathon! Yup, Prof let us 'cut' this time around. Satisfied indeed.

//The venue was 2 hours on road followed by 2 hours OFF-road. 

We we brought there by this awesome team of 4-WDs called MudMadness. They seriously taught us the meaning of teamwork. Hopefully we can work with them again in the future!

                                      

//Back during student time, post-sunathon = waterfall trip xD This time around, we stepped up for turtle-watch!

//The ever-so-stylish lecturers! ;)

//Dropped by the English tea-house in KK- the scenery is worthwhile. The food was yummy. The coffee was just... awesome! Heh... says the coffee-addict ;)

//Us and Profs

And in between those two trips, Geng Makan2 (which consists of colleagues of mine in Hosp. Batu Pahat who just happen to love to eat) held more -lo' and behold!- MAKAN MAKAN! =P
Who says doctors don't have life?
We EAT...

//Sate at... ?jengkuan? I have no idea how you spelt it...

And EAT...

//Durian & Rambutan Fest at yours truly + dominos

And we bowl too...

See? We DO have life xD

There was an announcement of Post-Grad Prep Course a few months ago. I went to the first edition last year before embarking into working life. It was useful. I am perhaps 80% sure of what I want to do next, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to just listen to other options too. 

It was a superb event, kudos to IMAM, MOSIT (MO & Specialist in Training) chapter for organizing it! I'd love to see more people attending this next time ;) 

For more information, you can visit: IMAM-MOSIT

//This year, there's booklet too!

//It was held in CUCMS this year.

Snapped this picture, this place haven't really changed in a sense. 

There was a sense of heavy happiness when I looked at the meeting rooms- I could see us 'strolling out' from the room on the swivel chairs, taking break from long hours of revision during the final days before Final Pro-Exam. Good ol' memories bring back smile =)

So what's next? In 15 more days, we'll embark into another chapter of life... called 2013.

Have you achieved your goals this year?

What do you want to achieve next year then?

Give it a thought, okay?

Wallahualam bissawab...

28 on 28th

It was rather... normal.
Perhaps the quietest birthday that I have ever gone through =P
Got texts from my family and towards the evening Alia whatsapp'ed me
And... slept way too early for my liking.

Early birthday present from my sister

New addition to the collections. Treat myself these and  scrap off one of the wishlists

Went back home a week after Eid
Post-call, slept in the car only after a couple of hours chatting with my sister who just came back from Sandakan while she was driving (yeah, I'm spoilt like that)
Reached home and "this is Raya" echoed in my mind- with all of the family members around

The men in my life ♥

I wanted to put "the girls in the family" but of course there's one boy there... ^^;

Was too ambitious to meet up too many people that I missed some of them
But caught up with my cousins and aunts and uncles
And a few friends & a few of my lecturers

F4 + 1 @ Sakae Sushi

Went to Faizah's sister's wedding; the other sister Shaza's missing :(

With cousin Ummi

The aunts & cousins. The uncles are outside and the other male cousins wondered why weren't they in the picture =P

Last stop on Sunday, after visited Dr Shu & Dr Rafizi, to Prof's house for dinner

Eid Mubarak!

Tomorrow is the last day of Ramadhan. This is certainly not the first time I celebrate Eid far from home. And certainly not the first time having something on during the first day of Eid; only the last time I had to sit for exam at 9 a.m. in Perth.
 This time around I’ll be on post-call during the first day of Eid, in Batu Pahat. Of course I'll be home for Raya- week after that. The question that comes next is “why?”

 For me, Eid is Eid. Yes, it’s the time to gather with all your relatives and exchange greetings and celebrate the festive day. More importantly for me, it is the gathering of family members & the togetherness, especially when all year round, some are missing.

So, since my sister who’s working in East Malaysia will only be coming back a week after Eid, it’s more worth to go home around that time too. The youngest studying in Egypt is already at home so it's just left the two of us now.

To everyone, wishing you Eid Mubarak! May we have used this month of Ramadhan as best as we could and may we see the coming years to come of Ramadhan too =)

The last 10 days of Ramadhan...

يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ

ارْجِعِي إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً

 فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي

 وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي 

[But unto the righteous God will say,] "O thou human being that hast attained to inner peace!
Return thou unto thy Sustainer, well-pleased [and] pleasing [Him]
enter, then, together with My [other true] servants
yea, enter thou My paradise!"

Al-Fajr (The Dawn) 89:27-30

Madrasah Ramadhan

In a few more hours, it will be Ramadhan 14th. Almost half a month gone.

What have we achieve in this year's Ramadhan?

It's a question I ask every night now...

Post-Call Rambles

One of the 'downside' of staying away from near Klang Valley area is you perhaps tend to miss these kind of activities; unless you plan way ahead. And being a junior officer with the 'Flexi Hour' system, basically weekends is normal working days unless it's your day-off/post-call day; or unless you've planned way ahead to take leave on the said day.

I can't describe how much I want to join this event; especially when the speakers are our profs. When you are staying away from home, there will be time when  you need some boost of motivation like this.
However, on this particular date, I'll be doing post-call. Looking at the last 3 on-calls I've done in Medical, I was in no state at all to do 2-3 hours of driving.

Any ideas?

Also, I actually bumped into a friend in high school when I was on-call yesterday. Actually, she was the one who recognized me and actually greeted me- and even remembered my name! xD
Apparently her husband’s uncle was my patient. She was kind of shocked to know that I’m working so far away from home; if only she knows of my tales going from KL-Kerteh-Sungai Petani-Perth-Cyberjaya/Putrajaya-and now Batu Pahat =P

But still, it was a pleasant surprise to know that someone from SMKTM actually remembered me despite the fact that I was quiet during my lower high school time in KL. Usually people remember more of the time during Form 4 and Form 5 and I moved away from KL when I was in Form 4, so I didn't expect that many people to remember me anymore apart from those who were really close to me back then 

=)


Oh! By the way, June 17th = Nino's Day; so to you who celebrated your Birthday on yesterday, Happy "17th" Birthday! Please stay just as how you are now ^.^

Thank You

Past 8 years, I've met with so many great, inspirational people in medical line;
Whose words and actions aspired you,
and make you want to strive higher.

Those people whom I met when I was a student, their names are carved deeply inside my heart
And now I am working, and still am training,
new names are added in the list

I am thankful that I was given the chance to meet these inspiring doctors & staffs,
To everyone in Orthopaedics Department, Hospital Batu Pahat,
I don't know if this message will ever reach you,
but from the bottom of my heart, for receiving this humble-still in the process of learning-creature,
THANK YOU for everything!

Treasuring the moments

When you are working under very dedicated specialists and very hard working MOs, you don't mind staying back extra hours just to lend hands so that work could be done quickly and more efficiently.

Today sort of reminds me of those days I spent under the residents, registrars and the whole Vascular & Respiratory teams in Fremantle Hospital and Royal Perth Hospital respectively....

Thank you for your warmth!

Hitori Janai Sa

literally means, 'you are not alone'

Got a text from my sister last night, saying she's in KK, eating sushi. Literally went O.o
And when she called later, the first words that I uttered was "WEII!!! JELES NI!!!"
A little while later, Amal tweeted "Bwk org sandakan tgk wayang...but missing the other sister" and I suddenly terribly missing the old group; missed being called the "Zenol sisters" by Amal =P

//Amal & the Zenol Sisters

I envy those people who can make split second impromptu decision and just go ahead with it.

I knew she's kinda planned this ahead and I guess it's easier to take a flight from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu rather than from JB to KK (or BP-KL-KK)
So.... It makes me wonder when will we have the chance to gather again?

//The "Us" back then; missing Shamina here

I envy those people who can make split second impromptu decision and just go ahead with it.
Usually I'm not that brave to take the risks, and chose the safer option
But, maybe one day, I'll be daring enough to make an impromptu decision.

One day.

Face Down

どうして？　目の前を閉ざして　どうする？　暗い部屋にひとり
手を伸ばし掴もうとしたのは　隠した SOS
四六時中頭を巡る　狂わせてる歯車 lose control
鳴り響く時計の針を　止めてよ　止めてよ


Why? Closing my eyes to what's in front of me; What should I do? Alone in a dark room 
What reached my hand out for was a hidden SOS 
Night and day, it goes around in my head; Like a broken gear that's lost control 
The reverberating tick of the clock's needle; Stop it; Please stop it 


-Arashi; Face Down [38th Single, 2012]

Kinda describe a little of what I'm feeling lately...

Anyway! It's been 7 months since I moved out to work about 300+ km away from home. I'd like to think that I am finally settling in, despite the fact that I chose this place to work instead of being 'dumped' out here. It kinda remind me of the time we first moved to Kerteh, Terengganu from KL. Only this time, I have no parents around to run to immediately. Considering that it's been years and years since that first move, I'm surprised that it's taken almost the same time for me to adapt.

That said, I'm nearing the end of my second posting, so I'm pretty much comfortable with my job scope at the moment. In roughly 2 weeks time (should I pass my viva that is) I'll be in a new posting and who knows how I'll take it, hmm?

Around this time last year, we were in the same position as our juniors are at the moment, cracking our heads up on where to go for our housemanship training. There are many things to consider- family factor, personality factor, homesick, being independent, support from friends, other's feedback on respective training centres... But one thing for sure, it does help to go to a place with a few familiar faces because first few weeks (or months) would be challenging especially when you try to adapt to a new system, new place, new faces (unless you choose the hospital that you did your clinical years in) and the same time being functional.

So,  I am thankful to have met nice people along the way.

I have to admit that with the Flexi Hours, depending on which department you are in, planning for leaves isn't as easy. Forget about weekends; so as long as you don't compare your job with the others who are doing office work, you'll be fine. I made that mistake in the first few months, considering that most of my friends who aren't from the same medical school are clocking in at 8 and going back at 5 and that was somewhat... stressful; but you'll get over it once you stop comparing.

Also if you chose to be in East Malaysia, do consider the price of flight ticket for yourself or your family/friends to visit; like I said getting long leaves could be quite a challenge so sometimes it can be quite costly. And sometimes things just don't go as plan.
In any case, do remember that we're in the phase of training so while taking break once in a while is recommended, do take the opportunity to learn as much as we can.

A great teacher once reminded our batch this and I'd like to share it: Toughen up during housemanship; even when you're tired or completely knocked down, just don't complaint. Do your best, make sure to give it all you've got in these 2 years. Don't  be calculative (exact words were 'jangan berkira sangat') with your colleagues, cover for them, have good teamwork!

Deviating from that, Mom said I should update this blog more... =P

So, finally after that one 'failed' trip to Muar for 'ikan bakar' we went for the second time and thank God it wasn't closed. Sort of remind me of the trip to Bagan Lalang that half the batch went in 2008 if I'm not mistaken.

Food was good; Sabak Awor was worth the trip =D

No pictures of the food because by the time we realized it, all were safely gone in our tummies xD

Like a few colleagues nowadays I'm counting days to go home!

7-Years Post Tsunami [Part 6]

Final batch of the lot: The Sites

Right Back To You

Work isn't just about answering to your boss/es but also whether you've done the right thing.
The thing is even if you 'cheat' to get the desirable results, or you pretend that you've done the right thing, in the end in the hereafter, you are still answerable to your every action...
You can't even hide then... Think about it.

This is a reminder for myself.

7-Years Post Tsunami [Part 5]

Before:

After:

There's also painting gallery and video presentation. When we were there, the 4D tsunami movie theater was being renovated, so we didn't have the chance to experience what it's like to be in the middle of the big wave. If you have the chance to go to Acheh, do visit this museum!

Next '7-Years Post Tsunami' will be the last entry of this series; I'll share some pictures of the tsunami sites in Acheh.