Monday, September 29, 2008

Really really...

I really really wanna post up stuffss...
I really really really wanna post...
All those pics....
:(
But ar... stupid karen left her cable all the way back in miri....
for the phone
for the hard drive also
sienz

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Disclaimer

My writing will punctuated with malay/chinese words occasionally.

Another thing to note is that, my grammar kan, i wanna giv back to the books that i've learnt it from! haha... no lar, just that it'll be prone to mistakes, like any other normal individual.
(i lz to check my mistakes okay)

Tough Job, tis great

It's a tough job being in aimst. How i got to my conclusion?

-Room mate, G, has been having muscle ache from carrying medic books.
MUSCLE ACHES?? From BOOKS??
ever hear of this kind of situation wan meh?

-I also got muscle ache in the first week of being here.
(though not due to the books, but their swimming pool,hehe)

-my room is on the 4th floor. argh

-insects insects and more insects

-the totally expensive books

-the not so cina punya makanan cina
actually i can tolerate a bit of spicyness wan... but then ar.. v sien u knw... tdk biasa eat everyday lah...


It has been great in a few ways though

-number of hours spent on class today=3. MUAHAHAHAHA
tmr=3 hours (if thrs no epidemiology tutorial, which i think is V possible)
fri=4 hours
waiseh!! can sleep in the afternoon so suang! *grinning like da alice in wonderland's cat d...*

-going to uncle's place this friday!!!!!!!!!!!
raya week is gonna be so amazing!! no aimst food/non air con-ness in room!!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

AIMST newbie

Ahhh... it's finally the weekend! Orientation's over! and classes starting next week!


Since i haven't started any of my classes, i'm in no position to talk about it, have only received study schedule and things like that.
On my first week in AIMST.


This is my uni!!! ain't it pretty!!
An aerial view of AIMST. Got wan teng to forward me this. thanks!
Other pics, well, until i've more time/access to the computer or rather better and safer internet connection

This campus is new and everything, so we're kinda privileged to have all the facilities thr lor.
This week has been more on speeches/talks/briefings/summarization/sharing by dean/profs/asst. registrars/lecturers etc.

Some of the stuff i've come to know about so far:
-med sch staff: vvv experienced/excellent/cream of the crop/fun/strict/no nonsense ppl etc
(not necessarily in that order nor does all adjectives apply to any certain individuals only)

-the sports complex is cool!! not THAT humongous in size but adequate enough. There are courts for basketball, tennis, squash, pingpong, badminton, a gym, running track and an olympic sized swimming pool etc. there! if only there were more badminton courts... so many ppl rebut that limited number of places.............

-some of the students AND staff do make full use of the sports complex. The pool for instance is quite packed the day me n my frens went for the first time. The number of badminton courts available was not enough for the many ppl that may want to play, and so you could see some ppl playing OUTSIDE the courts/in the complex/at the 'hallway' area behind the security guard
another eg: Prof Ong works out everyday!! (frm wad we've seen ths few days lah) swim today, jog tmr............

-medical block only opens one of the 'twin towers' doors....

-there really ARE med students who attempt suicide and experience mental breakdown. so must jaga-jaga n dun let ourselves succumb to the NEGATIVE reactions towards stress factors
eh nobody die in aimst yet lah... this kinda thing happen in every med sch in the world okay...
Stats we were given were from a US study. Relationship deterioration, depression, suicide rate all increase if we're in the med field man.... *sweats*

-cannot go near the gng jerai area thr... (got 'something' there) if wanna lepak/date/wadeva, go to the more 'open' spaces in the middle compound of the campus better......

-the admin building is whr we hone our 'fighting', 'debating' and 'persuasive' skills...

-dress code: strictly formal! don't play play~

-Being late for lectures will result in being kicked out/attendance not taken/door to lecture theaters locked etc.

-the med curriculum is modeled after bristol's (uk uni) and then adapted to the malaysian needs

-AIMST Students can beat public uni students in clinicals wan u knw!

-Batch 14 (that's our batch) it the biggest intake to date. (i wonder if the future intakes are gonna be this big??)

-Lecture buildings/libraries are VVVVV cold!! but we have no aircon in our rooms!! (adapting to this harsh change of 'climates' is so gonna wreck a havoc and cause a breakout!)

-population of flies are increasing hyperbolically. (okay mb i'm exaggerating that)
BUT they are so irritating lah! Friday morning, 2 flies committed suicide in my cup of milo. Friday's lunch, another one can be found in my plate of unfinished meal.
(i found a bug in the midst of my greens the other day, but it wasn't a fly though)
My food seems to be some kind of attraction for flies and insects man... Whatever else is the reason they won't tarnish the edibility of other ppl's food??

-the veggies from the chinese food section, tastes funny. so i don't eat veggies thr. BUT i just ate a lot just now! cos out at kopitiam there!! authentic chinese food man!!

-our museum got pretty pretty preserved stuff that is fun to look at and to learn from... whoopie!

-cadaver
tq, those who have made this noble contribution so that we sakai med students can learn more n eventually get to save more ppl's lives when we're doctors!

-our seniors, first meeting is er..... undescribable due to lack of vocab for now

-aiyohhh so many things to write abt... i can't remember what i left out/have written already lah....... so stop here!! muahahahah!


On the other hand, I'm starting to get worried about whether i can cope with being a medico or not. Sure does seem terrifying. Summore i'm NOT a really good student that scores straight As and things like that.

Sien-ness...

Oh well.... Aimst is terrific so far.
Except for the flies, and small cubicles for showers, lack of safe/secure/reliable internet connection for my laptop and er weird tasting veggies??

Conclusion: It's live-able. Was much better than what i had expected in the first place anyway...


PS: Cameron highlands is waiting for me!! cool cool air for me this weekend!~~ V much a contrast with the non air conditioned hostel.......

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Miri-changes??

I went to Miri City Fan this evening with my 2 sisters, Audrey and Annie.

Lo and behold, we stumbled into a mini mat rempit gathering a few minutes after we were there!!
They started their lil 'gathering' at the the pathways around the middle of the square-ish stage thingie!!
One by one, vroom vroom into the PARK with MOTORCYCLES!!
hello, people?? it's a park! it's meant for recreational activities not meant to involve motorcycles that plague our lungs with carcinogens!!
How has miri changed?? Or maybe it's just that i never realized their EXISTENCE?
the other one encounter i had with them was when i was out at the saberkas night market
on another unrelated note, flying in less than 12 hours!! and not even half finished my packing.......

Farewell to miri. And greetings to this ulu land

Flying to kl sunday morning.

Gonna shop and shop for all my 'appropriate' clothing needed

Taking bus to kulim on monday nite to find uncle first....

Then registration day: Tuesday

tq daddy and audrey for helping me with luggage! MuaksS!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Death

death


silences the cries of a child


topples down those in the pinnacle of their lives


gracefully accepted among the aged



death


the fear of most


from ancient times until the endless future


attemps to conquer death


futile aspirations


death


creeps crawls slithers


its presence


hardly ever predicted




death is here

Medical Check-up

I went for a medical check-up at Miri City Medical Centre (MCMC) yesterday, just so i could get the form filled for my entry to uni. Twas a last minute decision, 'cause dad says it's nearer. And so, off i went, in full anticipation, to have my very first chest x-ray. Muahahaha

What was truly unexpected of that visit to MCMC, was that i found Dr Kenny Lee Kian Yee, the Most Outstanding Youth of the Year (2007) (at the 3rd AYA Dream Malaysia Awards). This was my first reaction when i say him:

you.... you... you're the AYA... AYA guy right??

UGH, talk about professionalism, it was so lame now that i think back about it... EEsh! embarass myself for eternity~~~

Anyways, Dr Lee's from Kajang. And now, alternates his weeks between Long Lama and Miri, EVERY WEEK=change location. And his wife is Kayan!! ain't that cool!! anyways, what i learned about him was that he actually planned to specialize in the buka ppl's body area one, but he also had the passion for his poems. And then, there was all this dillema about what to do. But in the end, he gave surgery the chop and fly here to sarawak. And now, considers Miri=part time work.
Cos he does his work for free one when he's in Long Lama. WAH... how many ppl do you actually know that is so wei da right... and so, he gets to earn SOME money, help ppl in the rural areas, plus writing!

O.o woooooooo

Anyways, he gave me a thought or 2 regarding medicine- That studying medicine is exruciatingly tough on your mind, but you'll enjoy the pain. Muahahaha!
or maybe something along those lines lah.....

Then i got to learn about the normal position/size of the heart, what happens when 'this and that' is different, learn whr the lungs are by looking out for the bronchioles, what diseases that can be seen from xrays (fibrosis smtg??), the gender of the patient
(by seeing whether boobs are present!! i forgot to ask how to see if a female has a flat chest/ fat males of those filled with so much oestrogen that they may have boobs??)
More along the general path, nothing really specific like ALL THE NAMES OF THE DISEASES??

anyways, twas great fun. Cool first medical check-up to have, if you ask me!
:P

Monday, September 8, 2008

i'm confused. are you?


Letter dated 29 august 2008

Remark: This offer is only valid if.................. on or before 12 noon on 2 September 2008


Letter reaches skynet (courrier company) on 3 September


Reaches my house: Monday, 08 September 2008


confused, no?

Realization

I was lying on my bed, couldn't get to sleep for some reason or another
Or maybe i was just putting into deep thought some of those fleeting lil pieces that slip through your mind once in a while


I realized
I really do want to go to aimst after all
even more badly than imu

I realized
that i'm looking forward to 'that' day more and more
even if it means leaving before the mid autumn's festival



I realized
I actually think quite a lot more than i thought i usually do
now that i'm putting some of it into words

I realized
Some things in life that happen are REALLY what The Lord wills for us to have
and that what we mere beings think/do
we will not be able to fight what He has prepared ahead of us

I realized
that it is truly Him that knows us the best
for sometimes
we ourselves do not



He made me see
the transition from primary to secondary education
and how i eventually came to love it



He made me see
how i had yearned to be strong
and went such a long way
for my pre-university education



He made me see
how aimst is what i truly want

There might be toil and turmoil yet to be endured
There might be obstacles yet to be overcome
There might be storms yet to be subdued
There might be ...

He made it all clear
that MY mind was already set on it
right from the beginning



Lord
is this what You want me to see?

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Biting Frenzy

I've always been plagued by mosquitoes back home in Miri. Especially the first few days/2weeks that i'm back.


It's almost like a ritual! A not very good one of course, as those bite numbers can reach more than 10 in just ONE limb. so that's 40 for my hands n legs, plus some on my neck/face other parts etc......

Look at the hutan behind that fence.


No wonder my house=breeding ground for mosquitoes

Friday, September 5, 2008

Frust man...

If i don't get that enrolment pack from AIMST by this coming Monday or Tues,
i'm so gonna forget about them and go to IMU instead!!!
I know you're all busy and so on... but the intake date is 15th September 2008 man....
I wanna get my hands on that pack o stuff man....
man... man... this is so abigail man....
HEHEHEHE

14/08/08- IMU interview

Reached really early, and got to tour around for a bit and had fun getting lost. On the other hand, Spent some time on the papers whilst waiting for my turn/name to be called.

The whole thing took about 15 minutes.

The questons i got:
1. Tell me about yourself in a few sentences
i talked a bit about fam, edu, things i like etc.
(comment: i see that you don't have a problem in speaking english, even though you have rcvd your primary education in chinese eh? *muahahhaha*)

2. Why do you want to be a doctor?

3. Why IMU??
what i told them was true!! really wanted to go what...
(but then... circumstances don't allow it... i'd love to... but........sigh....)

4. Situation: Assume you are a pilot on this plane. A person suffers from heart attack.
Destination A: 2 hours away, thunderstorm, may endanger the others on the plane
Destination B: many many many hours away.
What to do????
Gave a not so creative answer to this one (even da interviewer said so himself):
if i'm da pilot, of cos i would be da best one around and would not experience any problem from those 'difficulties' in landing bah
then extra explanation based on that
(ya a bit muka tembok i know.. but i really didn't know what to say bah)

5. If a patient offers you 'something' (gift/whatever lah), do you accept??
of course not! duh..... explain well though....
If you do accept kan, wouldn't there be a conflict of interest (nolah just wanna show tat i study thinking skills)
professional ethics that you adhere to... explaination....

6. Are there any questions that you have for US??

That should be more less about it, albeit the change in the phrasing, points and all.... There's no right or wrong answer in the interview though. As long as you can present/support your stand well.

Lesley just had her interview... Wonder if they like her?? LOL
I don't think she has any problem getting through the interview though. She only speaks fluent english, malay and weird sounding chinese?? lol!

Personally, I think that as long as you have reached what i call their 'minimum' language standard that they hold, there's no problem acing the interview. Of course they do look at your resultslah. However, even if you have the best results any exam board can give you, but lack the communication/language skills required, then er, let me put it this way:
Will you understand what the patient is talking about/
will the patient understand what you're saying??

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

I'm diving in the MEDICAL profession!!!

Hola~

I know I know, this is so suprising right?? Can you imagine?? Karen Tan=white jubah at work?? with stethoscopes n specs n being responsible of the many lives that MAY come across her??

Oh well, unbeknownst to many, lil karen had this small fluttering hope to do this for quite some time already, but didn't take the loudspeaker to announce to the whole world. Main reason: scared i wouldn't have what it takes to reach for 'the stars'?? And so there was all this back up plans to go for law/finance/econs n the like.

Anyways, lil karen wanted to medicine. But then, family can only afford a local medical degree OR finance/law n capalang degree overseas that takes 3/4 years.
but lil karen still carry this small fluttering hope. And applied for AIMST & IMU. now, i've received offers to go to IMU & AIMST now!! woohoo!!

Doing the mbbs at AIMST will cost less then rm300k, whereas for IMU, 410k. I would really really like to go back to kl, what with all the ppl i know there, the excellent public transport (comparatively to the ulu ulu place bahhh), the place, the malls, acts etc.....

BUT, i think i'll be choosing AIMST.
Yeah, it's so 'kampung', and the food ala indian (everyday???), and no malls, my church how??, have to depend on the bus provided,v mafan to balik kampung etc.
i've thought about a few good points though. The library is excellent from what i've heard from lesley who has been there visiting, the sports facilities (yay got place to finally work out, but dunno got the motivation to do so or not), SOME ppl i know will be there, like lesley, xl, lily, jas. erm well i think that's about it?? oh yeah it's MORE THAN 100K CHEAPER!!

but jebby, n cs, sy, cc etc. well a lotta ppl are at imu......

OH WELL..... the conclusion is, most probably going for aimst, which starts like in less than 2 weeks!! omgosh, need to pass up my resignation letter, pack, kaotim bank accounts, a trip to dr aziz's....