I'm now in my 4th year and InsyaAllah will be graduating in slightly more than a year (Gosh, how scary is that??) and being in Cardiff, not Malaysia - the country I was obviously born and bred in, I get asked this question a lot through the years I've been here. And I mean, A LOT.
When I answer "Malaysia" to the question: "Where are you from?", I get all kinds of replies. Some of the more geographically challenged ones will just brush it off with an "Oh. I see." [change topic, quick, I dunno where that is!] I think they never ask why I'm doing medicine in the UK and not in Malaysia because they must assume we haven't any universities there (I've been told this many times so it isn't just me making assumptions)
So when I do get asked, "So why are you doing medicine in the UK? Aren't there any medical schools in Malaysia?" normally, they're generally curious or just trying to make conversation. And I always give the same answer: "There are very few medical schools there compared to the people applying a place in them". Usually they take answer and that's the end of that.
Today during ward round, one of the consultants (I think he's a locum.. I'm not sure, wasn't wearing a name tag) asked me that question. And I gave him my standard answer. But he persisted on:
Him: So the logic here is Malaysia needs more doctors than they can educate themselves, so they send them over here?
Me: I suppose so.
Him: So I assume you're sponsored then?
Me: Yes, I am.
Him: How do they pick who to send overseas? I mean, based on what merit?
(gave me an implying look - which, I have to say, I don't get exactly what is he implying)
Me: Urmm... well, (I was just about to tell him about SPM @Malaysia's GCSE equivalent)
Him: You'd think they'd pick the really smart ones to spend money on.....
Like seriously, how was I meant to respond to that? Honestly... I mean, not pretty, fine. Not hot, I really am not, so fine. Not nice, yeah I can be a b*tch, so fine. Not loyal, I can be that too, so fine. But not smart? wow... I mean, I don't mean to sound conceited but I am not dumb! I'm not brilliant, not a nobel-prize winner in the making obviously, but I really don't think I'm dumb. Am I?
I felt that was a bit unfair considering the fact that I've just met him about 20mins before that conversation. I bet he was trying to be funny, only I found it a little insulting. Oh well, maybe I kinda did deserve that. There is a lot I still don't know, considering the fact that I'm already in my 4th year! Oh my ego is bruised nonetheless...
p/s: on a lighter note, can't wait for 2AM's new song coming out on 21.01.2010! OneDay Daebak!!
Tuesday 19 January 2010
Sunday 17 January 2010
Ch-ch-ch-Change
*Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to this video.
I really think this is worth mentioning in my blog! My brother (who's the youngest and is 10 years old) is currently very badly influenced by his kpop-crazy older sisters. And this is who's on top of his list! hahaha As I've said on countless occasions, I am actually proud that my brother has taste (coz admittedly, even I think this is hot!) but then slightly worried that he's developed such taste at that age... No idea who that is? That's HyunAh of the girl group 4Minute from South Korea. Still no idea who I'm talking about? Well, you don't have to know who she is to understand my dilemma lol~ So what say you guys, should be worried? Should I be glad? =P
Friday 15 January 2010
NewEsT (and BIGGEST) obsSessIon!
If you haven't guessed it yet by now, it's 2PM's OK TAEC YEON
p/s: Warm up this very cold winter guys =)
Stranded in the snow~
You know how you watch movies and sometimes they have this scene of two people being stranded in a broken down car on a highway with close to NO cars passing by in a snow storm? Well, as dramatic as it sounds, surprisingly, recently I found out that if it does happen to you in real life, it is just as dramatic as they are in the movies...
So what happened?
Well, this week I was on placement in Merthyr, the famous hospital to give snow days off to students because of the heavy snow they tend to get and the dangerous road conditions heading up to the hospital. On Tuesday, by about 3.30pm Rich (my partner) and I got a text from the Undergrad office telling us to leave before a snow storm hits and we'd be stranded up there. Happily, we rushed off back (we were in a painfully dull clinic anyways). Obviously, when there's a bad weather warning, everyone rushes back, the two-lane highway quickly piled traffic and we were stuck in d midst of it all. But thankfully, traffic was moving, so it wasn't so bad..
Or so I thought...
Suddenly, without any notice the car just died. And it won't restart. Again and again. In the middle of a highway. In d midst of a snow storm! Finally succumbing to the situation, we decided to push the car to the roadside. Well, Rich and two other guys (very nice of them to stop and help us) pushed with me in the car, trying to be helpful with the steering wheel while they pushed as I was instructed to stay in the car.
Well, obviously both our handphones had to run very low of battery. Mine had already died hours before all this even started. His was on whatever remnant there was. After an unseccuessful attempt at trying to figure out what the problem was (well, Rich did. Again, I stayed in the car), he resorted to call his dad who called a mechanic for us. The mechanic person called Rich and tried to talk him through some things dat cud be wrong. but since nothing worked, the conclusion was that the car needed to be towed back to be looked at.
Great. About an hour after the whole thing started, his dad called to say the tow person is coming from Cardiff and will take abt 1 and half hours to get to us. By then we were already freezing our butts off~ don't forget the below -ve°C temperature going on at the same time. And oh, right after the call, his phone died completely.
Suddenly I realised, I needed to perform my Maghrib prayers before Isya' starts. And I had to do my wudhu. Pastu teringat, Ustaz Erfino cakap boleh tayamum pkai debu on surfaces. Tapi, kat luar keta banyak air mutlak kot.. so macam terpaksa la guna snow, sbb mmg takde alasan nk tayamum. Have u ever washed your face, hands, head, ears and feet with snow? Well, I can proudly say I have! Rich looked horrified at the idea but just gave a "i-do-not-want-to-be-you" look while he said, "have fun!" as I stepped out of the car with my sleeves rolled up and socks-less to do my wudhu. As soon as I stepped back into the car, I was shivering like mad. Luckily, he always carry in his car a sleeping bag and a thick blanket with spare pair of gloves. So I bundled up then prayed.
Then there was a matter of passing the time until help arrived. We read a book together. Him in his sleeping bag and me in my coat, scarf and blanket. It was quite a good book abt autism. But by about 30mins of it, we got bored. Then we decided to quiz each other about ENT. That lasted about 40mins, before we got bored of that too. Then we decided to sleep the time away.
I couldn't ignore the cold to sleep. I mean, by then I couldn't feel anything below my ankles except that it was really COLD. Rich slept for like 5mins before suddenly waking up. Then he went like
R: Shit, I have to pee!
Me: urm... I don't have a bottle or anything for u to pee in..
R: Ili, dats disgusting!
Me: hahaha well, there are loads of bushes out there if u want to brave the cold..
R: ummmm.... ummmmm....
5 mins passes..
R: Ah sod it! I really need to go..
So he finally left the car and got it over with..
After waiting 3 and a half hours, Rich decided he had to go find a phone to find out what was going on and whether help was indeed coming or not. So left me in the car and locked the car from outside and took the keys with him. "Just incase some nut gets funny ideas about a girl being alone in a car by the highway," he said.
I was still trying to sleep while imagining what I would have for dinner once I got home later. I was starving. We only had a bar of chocolate between us to sustain until help arrived (his, which he very kindly shared with me) Obviously I couldn't sleep what with all the cold and hunger I was subjecting myself to, sleep was the last thing my body wanted. Suddenly came a knock on my window. It was the man who came to help us! He finally got to us, at about an 1 and a half hours later than promised. He said the traffic out of Cardiff was horrible. It took him 2+hours to do a journey that would've taken normally 30mins.
But in his truck, I was warm. And the idea of home didn't seem too distant. So I was happy, whatever his reasons for being late were. At least he didn't abandon us. I got home at about 9.30pm, probably the latest I've ever come back from placement ever.
How do I feel about all this? Well... at the time, I felt like... aside from the men in my family, I've never felt more like a girl than I felt in that car with Rich. All my guy friends always assume I can fend for myself, and so they never bother. Not like how they'd treat other girls. But that night, I felt taken care of. He really took charge of the situation. He found us warm covers, gloves. He walked 800m in the snow storm to find a phone. He never asked me to get out of the car unless he really needed me to, not even to help push the car. I thought to myself, "So this is how other girls must feel. Must be good to be them." hahahaha
well, I'm glad we're both safe. And it all ended pretty well. So there you go, my very LONG and dramatic story this winter...
So what happened?
Well, this week I was on placement in Merthyr, the famous hospital to give snow days off to students because of the heavy snow they tend to get and the dangerous road conditions heading up to the hospital. On Tuesday, by about 3.30pm Rich (my partner) and I got a text from the Undergrad office telling us to leave before a snow storm hits and we'd be stranded up there. Happily, we rushed off back (we were in a painfully dull clinic anyways). Obviously, when there's a bad weather warning, everyone rushes back, the two-lane highway quickly piled traffic and we were stuck in d midst of it all. But thankfully, traffic was moving, so it wasn't so bad..
Or so I thought...
Suddenly, without any notice the car just died. And it won't restart. Again and again. In the middle of a highway. In d midst of a snow storm! Finally succumbing to the situation, we decided to push the car to the roadside. Well, Rich and two other guys (very nice of them to stop and help us) pushed with me in the car, trying to be helpful with the steering wheel while they pushed as I was instructed to stay in the car.
Well, obviously both our handphones had to run very low of battery. Mine had already died hours before all this even started. His was on whatever remnant there was. After an unseccuessful attempt at trying to figure out what the problem was (well, Rich did. Again, I stayed in the car), he resorted to call his dad who called a mechanic for us. The mechanic person called Rich and tried to talk him through some things dat cud be wrong. but since nothing worked, the conclusion was that the car needed to be towed back to be looked at.
Great. About an hour after the whole thing started, his dad called to say the tow person is coming from Cardiff and will take abt 1 and half hours to get to us. By then we were already freezing our butts off~ don't forget the below -ve°C temperature going on at the same time. And oh, right after the call, his phone died completely.
Suddenly I realised, I needed to perform my Maghrib prayers before Isya' starts. And I had to do my wudhu. Pastu teringat, Ustaz Erfino cakap boleh tayamum pkai debu on surfaces. Tapi, kat luar keta banyak air mutlak kot.. so macam terpaksa la guna snow, sbb mmg takde alasan nk tayamum. Have u ever washed your face, hands, head, ears and feet with snow? Well, I can proudly say I have! Rich looked horrified at the idea but just gave a "i-do-not-want-to-be-you" look while he said, "have fun!" as I stepped out of the car with my sleeves rolled up and socks-less to do my wudhu. As soon as I stepped back into the car, I was shivering like mad. Luckily, he always carry in his car a sleeping bag and a thick blanket with spare pair of gloves. So I bundled up then prayed.
Then there was a matter of passing the time until help arrived. We read a book together. Him in his sleeping bag and me in my coat, scarf and blanket. It was quite a good book abt autism. But by about 30mins of it, we got bored. Then we decided to quiz each other about ENT. That lasted about 40mins, before we got bored of that too. Then we decided to sleep the time away.
I couldn't ignore the cold to sleep. I mean, by then I couldn't feel anything below my ankles except that it was really COLD. Rich slept for like 5mins before suddenly waking up. Then he went like
R: Shit, I have to pee!
Me: urm... I don't have a bottle or anything for u to pee in..
R: Ili, dats disgusting!
Me: hahaha well, there are loads of bushes out there if u want to brave the cold..
R: ummmm.... ummmmm....
5 mins passes..
R: Ah sod it! I really need to go..
So he finally left the car and got it over with..
After waiting 3 and a half hours, Rich decided he had to go find a phone to find out what was going on and whether help was indeed coming or not. So left me in the car and locked the car from outside and took the keys with him. "Just incase some nut gets funny ideas about a girl being alone in a car by the highway," he said.
I was still trying to sleep while imagining what I would have for dinner once I got home later. I was starving. We only had a bar of chocolate between us to sustain until help arrived (his, which he very kindly shared with me) Obviously I couldn't sleep what with all the cold and hunger I was subjecting myself to, sleep was the last thing my body wanted. Suddenly came a knock on my window. It was the man who came to help us! He finally got to us, at about an 1 and a half hours later than promised. He said the traffic out of Cardiff was horrible. It took him 2+hours to do a journey that would've taken normally 30mins.
But in his truck, I was warm. And the idea of home didn't seem too distant. So I was happy, whatever his reasons for being late were. At least he didn't abandon us. I got home at about 9.30pm, probably the latest I've ever come back from placement ever.
How do I feel about all this? Well... at the time, I felt like... aside from the men in my family, I've never felt more like a girl than I felt in that car with Rich. All my guy friends always assume I can fend for myself, and so they never bother. Not like how they'd treat other girls. But that night, I felt taken care of. He really took charge of the situation. He found us warm covers, gloves. He walked 800m in the snow storm to find a phone. He never asked me to get out of the car unless he really needed me to, not even to help push the car. I thought to myself, "So this is how other girls must feel. Must be good to be them." hahahaha
well, I'm glad we're both safe. And it all ended pretty well. So there you go, my very LONG and dramatic story this winter...
Sunday 3 January 2010
Stories of winter~~
My God, how lousy am I at keeping this blogging thing alive? I mean, I just had a two week break and you can trust me to keep it almost completely medicine-free!! and with all that time, shame I couldn't find some 10minutes to write something here.. oh well~
What I did, u know, aside from sleeping:
1) Finished up season 1 of GLEE!
It's an amazing teenage drama and everyone who's into musicals should really watch it. They sing new songs every episode with different choreography each time. I was hoping to pass more time with it but it was only 13 episodes.. so didnt take more than two half-days for me to completely run through them! lol~
2) Hosting Te'ah n Shak. Couple yg comel ni came down to Cardiif but I was a lousy host.. so I don't think I did very much for them aside from providing free lodging! mianhe, Teah-ssi~~
3) Boxing Day shopping. Okay, so any right minded female in the western world would NEVER miss this day. I mean, I actually woke up at 6.50am and started walking towards town at 7.30!! on a holiday! Dats how much Boxing Day means to us over here.. n needless to say, shopping is indeed a therapy for the suppressed soul~ well, it was therapy then, but now my bank account is taking some time to recover from it.. but it was still SO worth it! =P
4) London trip/bumming with Aida! (to be further delved upon in my next post, coming hopefully soon =P)
post to be continued....
What I did, u know, aside from sleeping:
1) Finished up season 1 of GLEE!
It's an amazing teenage drama and everyone who's into musicals should really watch it. They sing new songs every episode with different choreography each time. I was hoping to pass more time with it but it was only 13 episodes.. so didnt take more than two half-days for me to completely run through them! lol~
2) Hosting Te'ah n Shak. Couple yg comel ni came down to Cardiif but I was a lousy host.. so I don't think I did very much for them aside from providing free lodging! mianhe, Teah-ssi~~
3) Boxing Day shopping. Okay, so any right minded female in the western world would NEVER miss this day. I mean, I actually woke up at 6.50am and started walking towards town at 7.30!! on a holiday! Dats how much Boxing Day means to us over here.. n needless to say, shopping is indeed a therapy for the suppressed soul~ well, it was therapy then, but now my bank account is taking some time to recover from it.. but it was still SO worth it! =P
4) London trip/bumming with Aida! (to be further delved upon in my next post, coming hopefully soon =P)
post to be continued....
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