When you have days like this, it is a refreshing change to have a day like this:
I received a surprise visit from an old trainee one early morning last week. She dropped by my place to pass me a gift but it was the short note that came with the gift that made me smiled. It was simple yet meaningful, one that gave me the push to go on, especially on a mental-draining day..
But high standard? Not yet.. or not anymore maybe...
The good day was made complete when I saw some photos in my inbox later that night. Boy...I am so missing the underwater world!
Tomorrow is a significant date for one occasion and a date for one not-significant-anymore occasion. Get it?
15th January 1989
This was the first time I stepped into a school relatively near to my JB house, which I have previously heard as the best in Johor and one of the top ones in the country. I wasn't that excited at the prospect of being lock-up in a boarding school with some nerds, especially that my last year of primary was a blast with frequent get-together and parties with my then-gang, including some bad boys. Entering Desa Tun changed my life. I was too busy having fun with my girlfriends with all sort of activities from week one that my old gang were cut out from my busy life straightafter ..dulu mana ada handphones or emails to keep in touch kan. Boys disappeared from my social calendars too except for the occasional bump-into at shopping malls and my neighbourhood during weekend outings and school holidays. I was later told that the boys whom I was close to just the year before thought the school has changed me into a snob overnight. Oh well..
My only real contact with boys when I was in that school were just through those innocent pen pal letter exchanges with boys from other boarding schools or through random meet-ups during school activities like sea cadets, sports and visits. Nothing more and I wasn't bothered at all..
Anyway, looking back, I am glad that my dad decided to send me to that school. Or else, teenage pregnancy and dropping out of school might be on my life-resume, as how it turned out for some of my old gang (bless them). Yes... I was only 12 back then but for a period of time, I was mixing with the a wrong crowd of kids and it got into my head. Of course, life in STF was not all rosy.. I had lots of ups and downs there too but the 5-year stint taught me a great deal on true friendships and independence. I got myself involved in so many different types of activities and I was hardly at home during school holidays. Yes, the school gave me the opportunities to indulge in my favourite activities such as travelling. Sea cadet brought us to Woodlands, Pulada and Gunung Pulai for trainings, Survival camp brought us to Melaka, Handball brought us to Tun Mamat and Gunung Ledang while Titian Emas sent me to Sarawak for a few weeks as an exchange student. When I was in Form 4, I suddenly found myself with nowhere to go during one school break, so I bugged my Ustazah to let me join one national Kursus Nadwah which was held at SMAP Labu although I was not in Puteri Islam nor a Surau Committee. The trip turned out to be quite fun and my face got featured in a newspaper article anyway...hehehe..
Many non-boarding school leavers would ask and give comments like: what is so grand about being in a boarding school? Why are you (the boarding school peeps) are so hang-up about your schools and the past? You've left the school 5/10/15/20 years ago.. it is time to move on!
Yeah.. we have moved on alright. But that 5-year stint had made a huge impact in some of our lives, helped to mould the person we are today (be it good or bad) and the friendships made during those years were mostly true and unconditional ones that lasted till today (When my life came crushing down on me out of the blue one summer night in 2002, the first person who came to my rescue all the way from Nottingham to Sheffield was a good friend from school)... Hence, it is only right that we give a bit of time to commemorate those years... and that is what a bunch of us will do tomorrow night!
Remember Moero Attack? This show was a craze when I was in Form 2 that we would rush back to our common rooms after afternoon preps just to catch it on telly. We would then adjourn to basketball court (because we were basketballers at the time, not volleyballers) to practise all the 'somersaults' seen on the show... thank god nobody got hurt in the process!
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15th January 2000
This was the date when I got married 'officially' in Malaysia. Officially because.. we were already married 2 years earlier, at Regent Mosque, London with a male cousin acted as the wali and a few close friends as witnesses. We even had a good celebration that night with my then Guildford Street flat-mates cooking all sorts of food from nasi minyak to satay. The marriage was an open-secret back then and definitely out in the open and irrelevant now.. For all it is worth, of all the things that I have done and regretted.. tying the knot on that one spring day almost 11 years ago wasn't one. Even with all the things that had gone wrong, I still think that was the best decision that I have made in my life. It was the right thing to do back then and it was one that I made it myself (with him of course) without any external pressure.
Why am I disclosing this fact after all these while?
It is ancient history and irrelevant now but I just want to churn it out off my system once and for all, for the last time..heheh ;)
Since I was young, shark fin soup has always been one of my favourites. When I was still a JB resident, any family dinner outings to Holiday Inn's Meisan Restaurant or to a few seafood restaurants along Lido and Stulang Laut would be looked forward to with great anticipation. All my siblings loved it too so we would fight each other to get the extra servings or that of my mom's since she wasn't really a fan.
The craze over this chinese delicacy continued when we moved to KL and I counted myself lucky for a period of time since my then-marital partner couldn't consume the dish due to some ancient family believes. Whenever we go out for family dinner, he would have crab soup instead and his bowlful share would be mine, to the envy of my sisters.
Anyway, all that changed when I took up scuba diving less than a year ago. I became more aware that finning of this top predator of the ocean, thus reducing its population, can disrupt the ocean's equilibrium. More and more of its species becoming endangered each day... hence, a decision to stop eating shark fin soup was made without much hesitation..
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I was all excited during my dives in Sipadan waters just 2 weeks ago when I got to see white-tip sharks, alive in their natural habitat, for the first time in my life. At South Point Sipadan Island, I saw quite a number lazying around on the sandbed, not bothered by our presence, the scuba divers. And to top it (not without envy obviously!), 2 of my diver friends managed to encounter a whale shark just the day after, on their way back to Mabul from Sipadan. After seeing the photos (just to make sure they were not pulling our legs!), my excitement multiplied and was secretly hoping that I would get to see it too before the trip ended.
Photo by Mr Chotty
But, my cheerfulness was cut short later on the same day when I saw these...
I was made to understand that whatever I saw on that day were all legal. The activities were the main source of income for some of these locals and the meat and fins were for exports. But that didnt stop me from having a huge lump in the throat knowing that some of these sharks were probably 'brothers and sisters' of those I just saw at Sipadan a day earlier!
Last week, my heart sank further when I saw this article in NST..
Aduhhh... macamana boleh tersangkut kat propeller pulak tu???
Anyway.. friends and readers out there... let's join hands to stop or at least minimise shark finning by quitting shark fin consumption. When there is no demand, there won't be any supply right?
Please give my future sons/ daughters/ son in-laws/daughter in-laws/ grandchildren the chance to experience the excitement of seeing these sharks alive and kickin' in their natural habitats as how I did just a few weeks ago.... please?
I wanted to log my recent sipadan trip here tonight, but the idea sounded so wrong and inappropriate after reading this article. Some other day maybe...
An extract from the same article on BBC News website:
I can't bear to think what will happen if the bombing continues. There are not enough beds in the hospitals and they are severely short of equipment, including x-ray machines.
But as we go out and asses the damage, we can see other needs. There is a shortage of food and flour and people are rushing to the bakeries but there's not enough bread.
I can't imagine the fuel lasting much longer. Due to the bombings, people are staying in their homes - they are too frightened to venture out. Aid workers are not exempt - the fact that nobody knows when the next bomb will fall makes our job very dangerous.
The shops are closed and so getting food is not easy. Trying to live in electricity blackouts is difficult - so working becomes that much harder.
Soon we will be distributing food as this is going to be an urgent need in the coming days if the bombing doesn't stop. That's our plan but we are now working to make sure we can source what is needed.
Every day is bringing fresh challenges and we have to find ways of dealing with them. The lack of supplies in hospitals, the food shortage and of course the fear that stalks the streets - I only hope and pray that tomorrow is different.
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Let's hope and pray hard that tomorrow WILL be a different day for the Gazans... they deserve some peace and happiness too..
I am back from Cherating and my brain is now cluttered with a long to-do list that I need to tick through before I leave for a paradise island breakaway in 3 days' time. So, back to just photo-blogging for the time being ya!
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To all my christian friends... Merry christmas, have a good celebration and happy holidays!
A good ol' friend asked me yesterday morning why wouldn't I want to go to the UK again and I gave her several reasons. Truth to be told, the possibility has yet to been discarded fully and her question made me think about it again. By the afternoon, I received a work-related paper and while reading it on a coach to Cherating, I noticed something. The author of the paper was from my old place of work..
Co-incidence? Or a calling?
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The waves are high and as I am typing this, the sky is getting darker and darker by the minute. But I am still hopeful for a brighter day tomorrow for scenic sunrise shots and an early morning swim...
I had a dream last night. One that woke me up and kept me awake in the wee hours of a saturday morning. One that I haven't had for a long long time. One that I wished I won't ever get again... but I did.
On the way back from basketball this morning, this song came on air.
Had a long chat with a good friend just now.. and we talked about it, the big D.
The dream, the song, the talk. Too co-incidental for all to happen on a same day. Weird.
Then it suddenly occurred to me... It is the month. And the date is just a few hours away. No wonder.
Ouch.
No, I don't feel the pain anymore. But of course, the scar is still there... I think it will be there for a long long time.
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To the good friend: Happy Birthday. May true happiness goes your way, sooner rather than later. You definitely deserve it.
It was a simple yet meaningful event. Good weather, high turn-out for both the qurban and distribution ceremony and good food from the beginning till end, courtesy from the host family and relatives. It was tiring but we had fun and a good experience. The villagers of Kok Lanas, Kelantan were warm and friendly and they made us felt like home effortlessly. It was a perfect way of spending Aidil Adha away from home and we couldn't possibly ask for more.
The most important thing, the objective was achieved, perfectly. 100 beneficiaries from near and far (as far as Pasir Mas if I'm not mistaken), received 2kg of qurban meat each as well as our usual trademark foodpacks. There were smiles all around that Monday afternoon... and by the end of the day, only that matters.
Kinda made up for the long 16-hour travel from KL 2 days earlier..
Somebody commented that for a person who usually spend 10-12 hours a day at work, I hardly talked about work in this blog. So here is one..
To start with, just a minor correction. I used to spend 10-12 hours at work on a daily basis.. and sometimes, I'd go in at weekends too. But not anymore. For the past few months, I have been limiting my working time to the normal working hours and even if staying back is necessary, I would limit it to 7pm the max only. It is part of my 'letting go' process I guess..heheh.
Yesterday was my unofficial last day at the private wing. Had a small makan-makan, a few exchanges of thanks and apologies, received a lovely gift from my kind-hearted staff, photo-taking session and..that was it. I didn't even bother to come up with a speech although the staff asked for one.. formal (read: superficial) speech is just not my cup of tea. Come Monday, the private wing will welcome a new full-time pharmacist, the first ever in the history of the organisation. I will still need to go there for another month during the pass-over period but I am glad that things are finally going to change for the better. Not that I am happy to get rid of the job. Ok, may be I do, but I don't hate the job that much anymore. It has kinda 'grown' on me I think..
I used to complain bucketloads about that place before.. here and here as examples. When I took over the unit (as an extra part-time job) 1 and 1/2 years ago, I was amazed at how a private setting can have such a sub-standard practice as far as pharmacy is concerned. Bad planning, bad implementation of systems and problematic staff. Such a recipe for disaster. They just didn't have a clue. I just couldn't stand sloppy work so along the way, I just had to make some changes and on a few occasions, even kicked up a big fuss with the management to get things done. Now, the place is far from perfect yet but at least, the problematic employee has since left, a full-force reliable staff has been assembled, and some standards and systems have been introduced. There are a lot more to be done but these changes can only materialise under the care of a full-time pharmacist. Hence, the reason why I pushed for them to part with their money and employ one, a step which they have been hesitating for years. So.. A big hurrah for common sense and professionalism!
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I have been thinking hard about the future in the past few months. While researching and planning for the years to come, I couldn't help but looking back to the past and present days, particularly my (other, real) job. Yes, work is and has always been a major part of my life.. (sad isn't it? But this is the real me). Looking back, I am amazed at how much we have progressed and achieved. When I joined the hospital way back in 2003 and was given the task to re-set-up and expand the team, never that I imagined that we would have gone this far, but we did. Over the years, we have managed to overcome cynical comments and pessimism from certain quarters and worked hard to make our own mark in the industry, nationally if not internationally. Of course, we had politics and dramas here and there (this is Malaysia after all!) and the place has seen a fair share of laughters and tears over the years, but we survived and succeeded.
My team is at its strongest now, I'd say.. which brings me to the ringing questions in my head... is it time to leave for a new adventure? If yes, temporarily or permanently? Where to? When?
I guess these questions will only be answered in the next few months or so. I am not in a rush. I still have a few more work-in-progress to see through. But whatever and whenever it will be... a major change is inevitable. I need to do something for myself, for once..
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Kinda appropriate for this post, isn't it? And Mr Big looked so young back then!
It has been quite a bad week. A week when most of the things DIDN'T fall into places nicely as expected. A week when things that could go wrong, DID went wrong. Maybe it was a case of too much of expectations. Maybe certain things were overlooked. Maybe if more preventative measures were taken, it wouldn't be this bad. Maybe.
The bottom line is, it has been one frustrating week but I guess, that's life. What's life without tumbles and turns eh? C'est la vie bak kata orang Perancis. Emmm... the person I was looking for desperately this morning turned out to be in Paris right now. I'm so jealous but again.. C'est la vie!
Hoping for a better week next week... If not, kena cari batu belah batu bertangkup. Kat mana eh?
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Humanity is still alive and kickin' even during this economically trying period. I am glad for that. And I am humbled.
It all started when one cardiologist friend (let's call him Dr T) asked me whether I want to chip in monetarily to help save a patient's life. Frankly, I thought he was joking at first knowing how much money will be needed for an angioplasty especially that the patient in question is a foreigner. An illegal immigrant to be precise. But Dr T was very serious about it and couldn't accept the fact that the poor guy will be left alone without the best treatment just because of his status. This particular patient came in with a massive heart attack and had another one while in the ward but kept the pain to himself because he was scared of the increasing hospital bills.
Over a quick lunch, Dr T, another cardiologist friend (let's call her Dr I) and I (let's call me Ms RC..heheh..) started reminiscing the good ol' UK days where medical treatment was (and still is) free for everybody without bias, irrespective whether you are locals or foreigners; with medical insurance or not. Long waiting time yes, but everyone still receive the best standard of care unlike in some other countries (this country included). Driven by Dr T's passion to serve, Dr I and Ms RC started to make some phonecalls here and there to find any individuals or NGOs who could help fund the patient's procedure bills. One of my call recipients was Sis K, a super senior from my alma mater whom I know has been involved heavily in charity, locally and internationally. When all the other calls were cut short and requests for help turned down due to patient's illegal status, Sis K continued asking for more details. Thinking she would only forward the details to any NGOs she knew, I didn't put much hope but surprise, surprise... within two days, Sis K managed to raise RM1k to help fund the patient's angioplasty and within 3 days, the amount doubled.
Life is full of surprises eh... I am glad that people like Sis K and those generous individuals who have contributed still exist in this messed-up world. The patient did undergo the angiogram and angioplasty that he needed and has now been discharged from the hospital. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart...
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Finally turned up for basketball yesterday morning after almost 3 months of no show. Got a lot of sticks from the boys for my very poor attendance but glad that I came.. got to know that one of the old gang and a good friend will be flying off to Mumbai for a short-noticed new work assignment and he'll be away for 2-3 years. Looks like I've just lost one of my loyal car-pooling buddies then.. Obviously, I am happy for him...we all are, but guess the once closely-knitted gang is now slowly disintegrating with every one of us taking up new challenges in our lives..
Good luck mate and have fun.. you definitely deserve this big break!
