How Open Can They Be?

This are billboards found in Czech...How open-minded the society can be.

This is definitely a big taboo in Malaysia , or Asian society in general. Nudity is not an art open for public viewing. People have to find high and low , resort to pornography or to the least Playboy magazine to satiate this little desire for these explicit photos. Here it is everywhere! You do not have to search for it , it comes to you.

If such billboards were put up in Malaysia , definitely our over-zealous , religious-minded , Eastern-values-guiding MP and leaders will be having heated debates over the newspaper and in Parliament.

But here , it is an art , it is nothing unorthodox. This is their culture , so it is just an adaptation to their culture.

Sauna here is open to both genders at the same time. And all locals , both men n women enter sauna buck naked and even take bath together. For us , it might seem awkward initially , but to them , there is nothing embarrassing at all..

And of course , there is no cubicle for taking bath in common bathroom in swimming pool or gym. So practically everyone is walking around with not even a single strand of string on.

This is Czech..

It's just too over-rated

Every year after SPM and STPM results are announced , tons of students with strings of A's will definitely say that they want to do medicine , wish to become a doctor , hope to save people's life...It has been a routine year after year.And honestly speaking, it has become quite boring sometimes when we read in interviews that most of these top-notch students proudly cite the same ambition. Why can't there be more variety?

And admittedly i am among these crowds a few years back. And here i am now doing medicine , pursuing my dream. But come to think of it , is it genetically embedded in every good students to have such great enthusiasim in medicine , and most importantly the seed of passion and kindness to help people around? Or is it just environmental influence that mould a so-called good student since young that he or she ought to be a doctor one day.

I think the latter hold more truth in it. We are living in a society where people's eyes and mouths play such an important role in our decision making. Sadly to say , some have been so susceptible to societal expectations that they are just a subject of manipulation , living others' dreams rather than theirs. Just because people think that good students should study medicine , so good students eventually think that because they are good , their dreams should be to become a doctor too. How often do we go deep into our hearts and ask if it is what we really want? Or is it just what our parents and teachers want?

And of course people always think that it would be a waste if a straight A's student doesn't apply for medicine.

"Do you know how hard it is to fight for a medical place in local uni? Now that you've got straight A's and you don't want to apply for it?"

Ya , ya ..everyone knows only 4As student in STPM got the chance to apply for it (not even guaranteed a place) , so only excellent students can do medicine in local universities. So here comes again , just to show to everyone that i am excellent , i scored straight As , i must apply for medicine. And it is betting your future just to proof that you are excellent. So now everyone knows , medical students are EXCELLENT students.

And definitely , this career is being overrated in our Asian society.

"What is ur son in-law doing?"

"Doctor , ehem.." beamed the mother in-law from ear to ear.

But...

"What is your son in-law doing?"

"Errr..er..hair dresser....." whispered the mother in-law ,praying hard that it is hardly audible.

By the fact a famous hair dresser can easily earn many times more than a normal doctor in hospital. I don't think it is an ideal career if you want to get RICH either. Doctor have to work practically 24-7 with not much time left for enjoyment , sometimes even time to sleep. So what can be done with the money afterall?

And to quote that you want to help people , how far is it true? There are so many ways to help others around and why must it be to be a doctor? Aren't teachers helping to shape the future generations? Aren't social workers helping those underpriviledged in society? So why not pick any of it too? And if it is purely to help others , are you going to prescribe medicine for free for those poverty-stricken patients? But real life stories have told us most doctors in private practice are charging exorbitantly even just for consultation fees.

And now that i am in medical school , i have experienced it myself the so-called "life as a medical student". There are so much to do , so much to study in so short a time. How we wish there are 8 , 9 or 10 days a week. Before you get to sleep well on Sunday , you realise that there are huge piles of work waiting for you to complete for the next week. Most of the waking hours during weekdays are practically spent in front of the books. Just to get a week off during study period will cost you double the mental and physical torture to catch up. And sadly to say , after all the toiling , statistic has shown on average 50% of students will dropout eventually.

So unless you really have great passion in doing medicine , do not embark on this choppy tumultous journey. But of course i am not here to pour cold water , of course some of us are really enthusiastic in doing it. So our will and determination is the greatest motivation that keep us moving. Just a reminder , give it a second thought before making this lifetime decision.

Mexican Cuisine

Mexican gastronomy with its intense flavours , colourful decorations , and its variety of spices is definitely too much to resist for a glutton like me.

Let's start with some starter..

Tortilla filled with chicken and cheese , served with salsa sauce.

And soup..

Tomato soup with avocado and tortilla chips

Main course...

Pork steak , anyone?

Or maybe chicken on hot plate served with wheat tortilla and cheese

Why not salmon with mexican rice?

Everything is red - it's hot , it's spicy , it's vibrant , it's fiery , it's Mexico!

Spring

How nice the feel of spring is,
With flowers blossoming from dead land of long winter ,
With birds chirping on the trees ,
With bright sun beaming over the sky,
With fragrant faint whiff of flowers,
With crystal clear water flowing along the river,
With cool breeze spreading the message of new beginning,
This is SPRING!

Devils at work

One devil is enough to create trouble. When two devils meet up , they definitely wreak havoc!

This is what happened during Priya's birthday.

8 ways of making her birthday memorable:

1. Start counting down a week before her birthday. Leave hints everywhere (on the blackboard , on her book , on the slide show , sit beside her) to remind her that we have PREPARED something 'special' for her.

2. Recruit enough team members to work on the evil plan.

3. Prepare her favourite food and drink.

Food: Bread with thick spread of blended dried chilli and chilli padi.

Drink: Egg , Coffee , Milk , salad cream , chilli padi , dried chilli , chilli powder , spices and BELACAN , all blended till smooth.

4.Tell her we will play a prank on her the night before her birthday , but catch her unprepared by having it a day before.

5. Blindfold her and bring her to a secluded place. Make her down the food and drink.

6.Remove the blindfold and before she can react , smash one fresh egg on her.

7.Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to Priya! Happy birthday to you!

8.Celebrate 21st birthday with diarrhoe and vomitting due to spiciness of the drink and food.

*Our initial plan is up to no.7 . Due to unforeseen circumstances , no. 8 has unfortunately happened.

Finale:

2 evils have to apologise.

And to 'repent' and 'turn over a new leaf' , each of us have bought a new t-shirt 'I am NICE'.

Paintball

I couldn't imagine how painful a real bullet hit will be..A fake rubber bullet hit is enough to cause a twitch in face and a week-long bruise , what more to say a real one..


This is the outcome of the paintball game. Of course it was enjoyable and exciting. But there's a big price to pay for such an excitement..Everyone got bruises all over the body.One of us even who was hit on the head too near even got bleeding. There were mixed feelings about the game , some think it was too rough a game , but for me personally , it was fun. C'mon , we are playing with 'gun' , what's it to do if we don't shoot others?
The whole game lasted for about 3 hours , in which different scenarios were set up, eg assasination of VIP , battle till death , battle between 2 groups etc. And the location was cool - an abandoned two storey building with tunnels , barriers and hiding spots.
My team did a pretty good job by winning most of the games. However we ended up 'killing' each other at the end of the game when everyone has excess of bullets and nothing to shoot at. Traitors!

Picnic at Park

It's spring! Finally , the cold , shivering , bone-chilling winter is gone. After a long hibernation period , it's time to walk out , take in some fresh air and enjoy the greenery. The best way to do this all at once - Picnic at the Park..We have always seen in movies , scenes where people have picnic at the park , sitting on the grass reading , basking in the sun , and having sandwiches. All this is of course not practical in Malaysia where we have temperature as high as 40 degrees and grass infested with worms , insects and shit. Even before you can enjoy the scenery , you would be busy chasing away insects , complaining about the awful smell and wiping sweats. So since we are here we would like to have a taste of it . And it well coincides with a few of our friends' birthday , so we might just have a birthday picnic.

And most importantly ,the twist of the whole picnic. It wasnt meant to be a proper birthday bash. Instead it was a secret plan to play pranks on the birthday boy and girls , an ingenious idea of Xin Yee. Of course the head of evil also prepared everything for them.
"Cakes" made of mashed potatoes , cream , yoghurt , flour and egg not for eating but for smearing the faces. Birthday wasn't as sweet as expected if celebrated with a bunch of devils afterall..Every birthday boy and girls got their share of it.

Before...After...
It was just fun! Of course , because i am not the one being fooled...

Skiing

My first skiing experience! I bet it's many people's dream to at least try skiing once. And ya , i've materialised mine.
And it was super-duper fun indeed! The adrenaline rush of sliding down the steep slope , the thrill of slipping and falling and rolling , the excitement of getting a broken limb (slightly exaggerated). All in all , it makes a memorable experience.
Being totally inept in this sport , we started off rather clumsily , and in fact for most of us , ended clumsily too. Trying to move up a small slope took us more than 10 attempts , as we just slipped down everytime we inched a little bit foward , so eventually we gave up,took off the ski and walked up instead before sliding down.
Sliding down the slope was AAARRGGGHHHH - unspeakably thrilling! Nothing beats this. No safety precaution or seat belt fastened like sitting in roller coster , so you won't know what you will end up in. For me , almost all my attempts ended up with face on the ground or legs split open or a big bump on the butt , any fall you can imagine of.
But i have made my resolution , for the next winter , i am going take up proper skiing class and master skiing before spring comes...

2007 Chinese New Year

1st year not celebrating Chinese New Year with family and friends. Being in a foreign land , in a town with countable Chinese around , we can't expect a celebration as grand as in Malaysia.

But at least , everyone has made an effort to cheer up this occasion.The best thing Malaysians can do during festive season - EAT , EAT and EAT! And yes indeed , the only thing we seek comfort in is eating.

We had our reunion dinner with our Taiwanese friends. A hearty meal of Bak Kut Teh , Char Siew , Pork Rib , Roasted Chicken , Herbal Chicken , Tom Yam soup , Pearl Tea .... True indulgence in pork. A meal to die for.

1st day of Chinese New Year , we had gathering with all Malaysian students. Of course , the in- house chef had to whip up the dinner. Preparations started as early as noon. Furthermore we had to search high and low for 'halal' chicken , which we eventually took from the storage in surau. Dinner of the day - fried chicken strips with 'special' sauce , honey chicken , cantonese kueh teow , steamed chicken , mixed vege , chinese style fried rice and mushroom chicken.

Nevertheless , no matter how much we engorged ourselves with food , nothing beats the atmoshere in Kuching.

Nothing beats this and this..

Oh ya , many thanks for the cards flown all the way from Malaysia. Also the Chinese New Year VCD ( which admittedly pale in comparison to previous years , are they out of idea or budget??) , and Tammy's specially made PINEAPPLE TART ( which was almost completely shattered by the time it reached me). Thank you!

Hopefully i can go back for Chinese New Year next year!

Long Long Gap

Checking my last update , it was on 11 Feb 2007.

Ya..It was a long long time ago. That was since summer semester commenced. Not that i have done nothing but study ,but on the contrary i have had too pack a schedule that i find no time to update my blog!

Also class everyday starts as early as 7 o'clock , so early birds have to sleep early. Then most of the time after class i am stuck in the library doing anatomy , histology , biology , in the lab seeing my "buddy" cadavers , in the gym trying to pump up some extra meat , in sauna releasing my pent up pressure..And the time left - snoozing.

(Deep breath) I'll try to update as many blogs as possible one go tonight..... Stay tuned!