Ramadhan Al-mubarak

Today is the third day of ramadhan.

Everytime ramadhan arrives, the memories of fasting in STF came flashing back without fail. How can I forget...

- having to learn how to wear kain batik at the start of every ramadhan so that i could go to sahur with my pajamas top (full pajamas was not allowed in the dining hall). But I think I gave up to master the art of wearing it somewhere in Form 4 and wore trackbottom to sleep from then onwards instead. (And I still don't wear kain batik.. don't think I even own one!)

- the prank that the seniors pulled on april fool's day (in 1990 if I'm not mistaken) resulting in one of the 'makciks' fainted when she woke up to prepare for sahur.

- the eagerness to celebrate 'malam tujuh likur' ... We put on 'pelita' during formal dinners, so we managed to play 'bunga api' at the hockey field after terawih... without wardens' knowledge of course! But these were in the early days. I became a prefect in form4 so, couldn't really do 'such thing' could I? :)

- having to take SRP during ramadhan. I remember being in dilemma either to go to prep to study or to go to terawih the night before the science paper. Ended up going to terawih with the science book in hand hoping that I could 'absorbed' whatever in the book during the prayers.... So much for last-minute study!

Emmmm...those were the days....

The past 2 years have been difficult for me. Yet, ramadhan always managed to bring me calmness and peace and enable me to put things into perspective...

Selamat menyambut ramadhan to all!

A Special Request

Fallen: Lauren wood

I can't believe it,
you're a dream comin' true.
I can't believe how
I have fallen for you.

And I was not looking,
was content to remain.
And it's ironic
to be back in the game.

You are the one
who's led me to the sun.
How could I know
that I was lost without you...

And I want to tell you,
you control my brain..
And you should know
that you are alive in my veins.

You are the one
who's led me to the sun.
How could I know that
I was lost without you...

I can't believe it,
you're a dream comin' true.
I can't believe how
I have fallen for you.

And I was not looking,
was content to remain.
And it's ironic
to be back in the game...

al-fatihah

Johan Ismail

03.12.1966 - 18.10.2003

Deepest sympathy to his family and loved ones. Semoga Allah cucuri rahmat ke atas rohnya.

"Don't dwell on the past, your future is in your hand"
I shall remember that as long as I live...

SECRET (by Heart)

I stumbled upon Heart Gallery website by accident while browsing lyrics.com. I finally found the actual lyrics of one of my favourite songs, after more than a decade. But better late than never right?

Secret

We lead two different lives
Just like two lines that never cross
And here we are together
Standing closer than we are
But we're still standing here untouched
Too scared to make a move
We want so much to touch and we can't wait forever
We know it's dangerous for us to be together

How do we ever keep this secret
How do we keep it in the dark
And if we dare to taste our weakness
How do we tear ourselves apart
Why do we keep this love together
Didn't we know right from the start
That we would have to keep this secret
Or forever stay apart

I watch you coming to me
Walking in the pouring ring
I can't help looking at you
Wishing I could stay away
So many times I've tried in vain
To close my eyes and pray it goes away
But I can't stop myself from feeling
To let you go would be too much
For me to take

How do we ever keep this secret
How do we keep it in the dark
And if we dare tot aste our weakness
How could we tear ourselves apart
Why do we keep this love together
Didn't we know right from the start
That we would have to keep this secret
Or forever stay apart

I can't help thinking
When I look into your eyes
How much I need you
It's so hard to hide

How do we ever keep this secret
How do we keep it in the dark
And if we dare to taste our weakness
How could we tear ourselves apart
Why do we keep this love together
Didn't we know right from the start
That we would have to keep this secret
Or be doomed to stay apart

Congratulation!

Before I go back to my cozy bed, I would like to congratulate the whole of Harakiri production team for the enjoyable play. I'm particularly in love with character Panjang (acted by Colin Kirton) who made me laughed everytime he opened his mouth. Although I've seen the actors rehearsing a few times as well as joined one of their trainings in the early days, they still surprised me with their wittiness and spontaneity. Good job!

UK re-visited

My throat is sore.. My whole body is aching... I've been coughing my lungs out since yesterday and not to mention the thumping headache due to nasal block.. Yup, I'm having a flu. With all that sufferings, I still have to force myself out of the bed to see a doctor for MC.

I still don't agree with the MC system in this country. I mean, why do I have to waste RM26 when I'm fully qualified to self-medicate myself? We all know that the best therapy for flu are to take some paracetamol (unless you're allergic to it like yours truly) and to stay in bed with your hot water bottle. Then, why do we have to waste our time and money just to get the MC?

I'm not saying the UK system is perfect but it does make more sense. Over there, you only need to see the doctor if you need to stay off work for 3 days or more. This means you can self-medicate for minor ailments without having to wait for 1 hour (or more!) just to see your doctor especially when what the doctor would prescribed are exactly the same as what you've taken at home.

Talking about UK...

I just received 2 e-mails from my ex-collegues saying that they'll be coming to visit..I'm so excited! Sarah G. will be going on a 6-month tour with her man and will be popping over to KL during that period while Gaby will be coming over somewhere in January on her way to Down Under. She's in the process of selling her house now.

I wished I can be like them. I'm so in need of long holidays but I've just started a new job and money-wise....emmm... don't even want to go into that, how depressing! Just hope I get to go back to the UK someday. There are so many things that I've not done over there...and still so many places to go to...

I think I have to get back to bed... my eyes are watery and I've started to cough like nobody's business again. Just hope I'll be able to go to the Scientific Conference this weekend especially when Roche is kind enough to sponsor me. Emmm... I still have nothing to wear for the Pharmacy Nite and it's tomorrow night!


10th - 12th October 2003
Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre

Harakiri

Harakiri, a debut play by ChakraWorks is due to open tomorrow at Bangsar Actors Studio . The best of luck to the production team!

Going back to nature (part II)

I spent the whole of last weekend at ALIM and it was great. The programme was actually a community project by a MNC (I shall not reveal its name) where they took some of the less fortunate second-formers from a nearby school to the centre for a motivational and team-working course. I went along as I was promised an exciting weekend doing all the outdoors activities as mentioned in my earlier blog. Yup, they did fulfilled their promises and I had a fab time especially doing flying fox the 'superman' way (I flew down a cliff and across a lake!).

But what I didn't expect was only 4 of this particular MNC staff were committed to the project and spent most of their time there (although only two stayed for the whole period of the programme). The others only came over on saturday (not even a full day) to spend their time with the kids. Weird huh?

I mean, it's their project at the first place so they should be there! I know the kids are looked after by ALIM's instructors but when you're the organisers, you need to be more responsible in ensuring the welfare and safety of the kids especially when the programme involved risky activities. If nothing else, it's just plain rude!

Anyway, I was supposed to leave the camp on saturday evening for the EUROPA presentation (sorry Chee Kiat!) but the 4 staff and the ever-so-friendly ALIM instructors succeeded in persuading me to stay and help them out as facilitator. I did stay on because I enjoyed the camp and it was a great experience being on the instructors' side for once but frankly, I think it shouldn't has happened that way. Afterall, I don't get paid for it and believe me, looking after 36 hyper-active kids is not an easy job.

Ok.. Now the best part...

ALIM is gorgeous. It's at the foot of Jugra hill and very very near to Langat River. I have to admit I've never heard of Jugra before and I really thought that I was going to Banting. Jugra was apparently the royal district (before Klang) and that is why they have a lot of 'makam' including one of the late Sultan Abdul Samad. I've learnt a little bit of its history and I intend to learn a lot more.

Being near to Langat River and the sea means lots of seafood too. We had a BBQ on our second night there and it was heaven. I had lots of crabs... They weren't marinated or anything but the taste of fresh crabs was just excellent! We also had a huge ikan talang weighing 11kg fresh from the jetty- and I don't think we managed to finish all of it!

I will definitely go back to ALIM in the nearest future especially when they've offered me to join them as part-time instructor (my 'superman skill' must have really impressed them! :)). I intend to go fishing there too but I first need to get myself a fishing rod. To Azmi, Dol, Atan, Wan, Lin, Ajak and others (sorry I don' remember all the names): thank you for your hospitality and friendship.
Now... I just need to find 2 pots for the plants that they gave me....

Going back to nature

I can't wait to finish work tomorrow as I am going to some sort of 'survival camp' in Banting for the weekend. I don't know the details yet but I will probably get to do abseiling, river-crossing, flying fox and rock climbing (yup, am not kidding!) I've not been doing these since my A-level years, so I'm quite excited about it now! However, I have to come back to KL saturday evening as I've promised Chee Kiat that I'll be going to the EUROPA Study presentation at Regent that evening. He has done a good job to get us some places for that presentation (which is meant only for Specialists) , so I should honour my word.

I'm glad that A-level 13 BBQ-cum-reunion has been postponed to next week...otherwise I won't be at home at all this weekend!

Anyway, have a nice weekend everyone! I know I will in some ways :)

Nightmare in ________ street (fill in as necessary)

I took the effort to get up earlier than usual this morning (and missing my breakfast) to get to work early knowing that there would be road closures due to OIC. But what did I get return? A growling stomach while stuck in the traffic for more than an hour! The worst thing was... it was only a practice...those OIC people are not even here yet!So, my hunger and not to mention my lateness were actually a complete waste, especially when my journey from ampang to cheras doesn't even involved the closed roads..

Anyway, one of the morning DJs on MIX FM really got on my nerve this morning...While commenting on the road closures, she advised us not to go into KL ..''and if you need to go to work, use LRT''... Hello??? If i need to go to work? She made it as if it's an option to go to work! Ok, I might be a lil' sensitive then but I'm sure you reacted the same way if you get stuck in the jam like that. Whoever done the scripts should have been more sympathetic, that's all...

By the way, now that we have monorails, LRT and commuters, why don't they charter some of these to transfer the delegates from KL to Putrajaya thus avoiding the unnecessary grieves to the drivers? I once bumped into Robin Cook using the London Underground while he was still the foreign minister... If he was safe enough to be using the overcrowded tubes, why can't these delegates? Why do they have to be driven in BMWs instead?

Oh... while my car took part in the crawling process, I actually thought how nice it would be if I was on a bike then... I mean, no road closures would affect me right? If I own a kapchai, I don't even have to pay road tax...time and cost saving! Emmmm...not a bad idea afterall. I should start taking lessons soon :)

Useless antibiotics

An article in the Malay mail really interest me today (apart from NASCOM's Rm1.8billion suit of course!) and it's a warning from Prof Hugh McGavock of Ulster University that all forms of antibiotics will be useless in 12 years due to 'gross over-prescribing' by doctors.

Well... this is old news to many of us. We have seen many many resistance problems in hospitals and finding appropriate antibiotics that actually work can sometimes be a gamble. Why is this happening when the pharmaceutical companies keep coming up with newer and supposedly better antibiotics? Surely we'll have more of the newer antibiotics to play with in 12 years' time?

Here's the fact: unless we seriously change our antibiotics usage, the resistance problem is here to stay and will cause more chaos.

Here's another fact: Antibiotic DOES NOT cure your common cold!

I cringed everytime I overheard somebody asking for antibiotics when you can be absolutely what they had are caused by viral infections or some sort of allergy (think hayfever). Of course there are instances when you can get secondary bacterial infections with viral infections but that is for a doctor to decide, not retail pharmacists who don't even bother to ask for medical histories! And who actually make it legal to sell antibiotics over-the-counter in Malaysia anyway??
Now, I'm not trying to dish out my fellow professionals but if us (pharmacists) do not take up the responsibilities to educate the public, who will?

Oh, and other professionals should play they roles too. I remember having a go at a nurse (bless her!) when I went to visit my sister at a hospital recently. My sister was actually admitted with viral fever so when I saw the nurse serving antibiotics I asked her why. She said she's not sure why but "must be for the viral infection". Wrong answer woman! She got a free lecture from me that night....

I mean, if those in the healthcare professions don't even know that antibiotic is for bacterial infection and NOT viral...how are we going to educate the rest?

And as the article stated, some doctors are at fault too. I mean, how can you give somebody a course of antibiotic without even examining the patient or taking history especially when the patient only asked for some anti-histamines for stuffy nose? This is a true story and happened at a trendy (read expensive) clinic in KLCC. I am however been blessed that my new-found GP here is pretty responsible. I was not offered antibiotics on a few occasions that I went to see her, even when I presented her with a really bad cold. Emmm...I think I shall remain loyal to her for a long long time since she keeps her antibiotics away from me but still very kindly gives me MCs....