PATCH

is it?.....

2011-11-09T23:17:00.002+08:00

a chat with the yogi........

2011-10-30T19:37:00.002+08:00

Second week at yoga, trying to make it a habit to come every weekend. I had this conversation with the Yogi while lying on the floor, legs raised straight against the wall, and having the blood gushed back to the brain. He was making a remark, that in this position, with the ribs sticking out and the abdomen sucked in, we don't look too good but it's good for our internal organs. I kinda uttered under my breath that I don't mind my ribs sticking out and my abdomen flatten in for a change, haha. And he heard me...

Yogi: Did you join yoga to lose weight?

Arteo: No, for flexibility. (fingers crossed)

Yogi:   If you want to lose weight with yoga, I'll teach you. Every night, you must eat only raw food.
Arteo: Sushi?
Yogi:   NO! Uncooked food!
Arteo: Ah, I see...
Yogi:   Just vegetables and fruits. And you must do this every night.
Arteo: Okay...
Yogi:   Daytime, you can take anything you want.
Arteo: Can try...
Yogi:   Only fruits and vegetables you know....
Arteo: Okay, I'll try....
Yogi:   No soft drinks, no tea....
Arteo: Okay, I'll try.....
Yogi:   No coffee.
Arteo: OH NOOOO!!

newest recruit to asrame budi.......

2011-07-25T16:16:00.002+08:00

Newest - Baby Shawn, and Not So New - Baby Tua YihYi

Baby Shawn - recruitment date July 25, 2011

a long while...........

2011-07-25T09:25:00.002+08:00

Nothing beats the excitement of getting an email from a dear old friend first thing in the morning, and surely nothing beats the excitement of getting an email from a dear old kindred whom I've lost touched with for a bit ;o)

I'm so happy I have to post this up!

FROM:
Sherena Nair

TO:
arteo@yahoo.com

Monday, July 25, 2011 3:41 AM

a long while.....

Dearest Roddy

First of all, congratulations on your MPH!!! What are your plans at the moment and where will you be based? I hope that you are well.

I know it has been an immensely long while since I last corresponded with you - but something happened today and the first person that came to mind was you. I have been reading your blogs on and off and I too do think about the Fuzzy Project, about all the things that could have been and I should have done....and for some reason, these last few weeks, my mind has been feeling so very unsettled about the future.

Life has obviously changed for me, married, and doing the everyday-things that married people do, but there is constantly a void - that void that can only be filled with the doings of a JR, or the christmas list for kids, etc.....

So what happened today - I am not sure if you are still a church-goer or not - but I have been a relatively luke-warm catholic these last few months. Partly because of events that have taken place in my life, but today I went to mass. And as I sat down during the homily, something came over me and I felt this pit in my stomach - and I thought I was going to be sick for a moment, and then it passed. But throughout the entire service, I had this resounding nagging in my soul - of needing to do something different with my life. I still have no idea what I'm going to do.

Hence, I was wondering what your Red Nose plans are - what are your intentions? What do you want to achieve? How can I help - financially perhaps, or brainstorming? I don't know. I want to rekindle that spirit of vigour and passion that we had when we sat around the table for a much-needed debriefing session...... to feel that exhaustion after a good day's work, but most importantly, I think I need to start fighting the good fight again.

I am terrified of what this change might bring about. The path that I have to walk, feels very uncertain, yet much needed, with a million unanswered questions. All I know is that I have to make a start, and perhaps with everyday that comes, the universe will unfold itself.

I really hope that you are happy Roddy, and I wish you all the best. Do drop me a line to let me know how you are doing. Take care.

love and God bless
Sherena xx

Dear Sherena, Congratulations on your Wedding, I'm truly happy for you and Paul ;o) I wish the best for both of you! I'm just doing these entry to tell you I've received your email and was euphoric to get it on a Monday morning ;o) I'll be replying your email properly soon ;o) I'm posting your email here because I think it may re-sparkle some old amber in some of us old kindreds ;o)
Hope to catch you when you come back to Malaysia, buzz me your dates again please ;o)
Love, arteo

this i like.........

2011-07-23T22:29:00.003+08:00

Interpretation #01
Fit man trapped in the body of a Fat man (original)

Interpretation #02
I just swallowed a man and I'm trying to flush him down with some sort of beverage

Interpretation #03
A man playing a Japanese Gameshow "The Wall"

not so cute statistics............

2011-07-23T22:00:00.002+08:00

I've done some calculation in this time of self-hating motivation to lose weight, and it seems that I need to give birth to 14.3 babies in order to achieve my (ideal) weight at BMI 23.

14.3 DROOLIN', KICKIN', CRYIN', BARFIN', POOPIN', SUCKLIN' BABIES!!

That's a friggin' lot of epidurals. Feck!

no eye candy.........

2011-07-23T21:14:00.003+08:00

If I see an obese person outside I look at them in disgust. I hate it when I see them eating at buffets, pigging out, and at fast food restaurants. I especially hate it when I’m at Wal-Mart and I see some fat lady riding around in one of those automatic wheeler cart thingies. JUST GET UP AND WALK! I know, I know. This seems insensitive. I’m fat so I know what it feels like to be in public and be stared at. Or not even being stared at but feeling like everyone is looking at you because deep inside you hate the fact that you are fat and can’t or haven’t been able to control yourself.

But while I have been fat, I have been disciplined as well. I know I can attain my goals if I stick to the plan. So I use that as a way to separate myself from other fat people, in my mind at least. In my head, I am not the same as them. I am different. Better. But that’s where it gets kind of crazy because I AM fat. I have used the same excuses they have. Done a lot of the same things they have. Eaten a lot like they have. Worn over sized clothes like they have. You get the point.

I’m fat, have been for most of my life....

Quoting Israel Lagares in his blog.

Suddenly the little pebble of dysmorphia that has been snowballing throughout this week came crashing like a boulder.

I am just wondering... I usually get in the mood to shape up only when I have enough self-hatred to fuel the weigh loss motivation, and even after hating the mirror image for almost all my post-puberty life, I've not been able to keep it off. How much more do I have to hate myself to make it work? I do wonder.

A friend just reminded me about the 'buying a new pants you want to get in' trick to keep up the weight loss motivation. Maybe I should go shopping for smaller pants tomorrow.

lesson on happiness #001..........

2011-07-21T09:04:00.003+08:00

What does it take to keep a little girl happy? Nothing much but a felt tip marker, a piece of paper and some colour pencils...

But I guess more than anything else, is someone to sketch some bears and lions and fish and hearts on demand, and someone to look over her shoulder when she does the good work of colouring within the lines ;o)

We do not seem to have enough of happiness from material possessions because of s phenomenon called the Hedonistic Treadmill that we subconsciously run on. As we gain more or have more possessions in life, we will take our current standard for granted while our aspirations get ratchet up. It becomes a continuous cycle of aspiration for the next level, which will again fail to satisfy.

Stop for a while, and enjoy the wonder of a 4 year old's wealth of imagination in colouring a fish red, green and purple.

dad's 60th birthday bash.........

2011-07-21T01:06:00.000+08:00

convocation 2011 for mph..........

2011-07-19T10:23:00.001+08:00

I suppose it is an auspicious date after all...

got fuzz?...............

2011-07-13T11:04:00.002+08:00

November comes early again this year. Currently having this nudging feeling that I've not been doing enough (or rather not doing anything at all) to leave any significant footprints behind.
Whatever I've had few months back on the Red Nose Project seemed to have been buried deep with priorities given to passing the master degree and do well in the exam. Well, passing it I did, but doing well is subject to interpretation I guess...
In the moments of anxiety I might have bargained with God that if I manage (or rather, if He miraculously) pass me on that exam, I'd dedicate efforts towards charities that I've abandoned. I guess a promise is a promise, and I am a person of principle. Red Nose Project must be revived!
For the past few days I've been (fondly) taking a walk down some distant memories back at the times when the gang was together and we were doing things to evoke this happy-fuzzy kinda feeling among the people we come in touch with (and ourselves mostly it turned out to be). Projects were called Fuzzy Projects. Those were the best times when everyone believes in making a difference and there are no such thing as stupid ideas.
So now, my idea is this, I'll gather a group of kindred spirits (God help me in finding more of them!) and dress ourselves in red noses. We'll plan out activities for charities, and sit down to discuss philosophy. I'll be telling them about my version of the philosophy on Fuzzy Project, and we'll always have an empty chair in the gathering to honour a fellow kindred who believes in this so much. Keets, this chair is reserved for you, come back and join us please!
Yeah, it's about time we get busy to work on spreading the fuzzy feeling in the world again ;o)
So you with us? Where's your Red Nose?

bersih: gangsta in da haus.......

2011-07-10T19:14:00.002+08:00

Once when I was little, I remembered an occasion when a monitor lizard sneaked into our house one weekend evening. We were terrified with the visit of such monster into our house. A neighbour who is an auto mechanic (I think he is) came to the rescue to capture that not so little uninvited reptile. There was a short struggle between them and finally he subdued it by pressing it on its neck and catching it by the tail.

This picture evokes the same terrible feeling from that childhood memory. I don't know was it the cop's face or the poor guy being pinned down, but surely this isn't a nice picture to look at.

Here's another unsightly picture to look at.

Sheer EVIL. Goosebumps!

e.p.i.c.f.a.i.l...........

2011-07-10T15:02:00.004+08:00

There should be a law to regulate the extend of stupidity allowed in the media in this country. An example of how a backward civilization trying to imitate the technology that is so freely available and still failing to do so, the notion they are even called a 'civilization' should be taken back.

This is an online version of one of the 'mainstream' news media in Malaysia, trying to tweak the truth by pasting up a picture of a terrorist onto the Rally scene in Kula Lumpur yesterday.

Click here for that unfortunate page

Maybe a few pointers would help them do a better job next time:

Check for the shadowing, make sure it's similar angle with the rest of the background
Make sure the sharpness or the contrast isn't too different between subject and the background
Always check for anatomical accuracy, don't make people stand on the medial aspects of the feet, that's too unnatural
Go with the general theme of the occasion, perhaps getting a terrorist wearing yellow shirt would make it more identifiable

P/s: Mr Effendy Rashid, putting such a lousy photoxed picture online only shows you're in need of more education, perhaps we can sponsor your classes in LimKokWing or something... This time it's forgiven at the expense of our laughter on a Sunday afternoon, next time it's a crime!

EPIC FAIL!!!

clean up at work.........

2011-07-10T02:18:00.005+08:00

Malaysia witnessing the movement of people power in action, something that is essential in a democratic nation but rarely acknowledged here as the ruling party has had their own definition of democracy for the past 54 years. Typical of the men in the cave looking at their shadows analogy, those who are not used to this will be screaming and kicking at the idea of real democracy.

Pictures taken randomly from websites showing the scene of Malaysia finally getting its true freedom, congratulations to those who braved the obstacles during the rally. The journey has just begun, my friends. This is indeed a moment in the history of a reformed nation in the making ;o)

t.r.a.f.f.i.c.j.a.m..........

2011-07-08T23:56:00.002+08:00

Stupid road blocks everywhere causing massive traffic jams all around Klang Valley. The stupid blocks were for nothing significant in particular, just having those gongbin policemen and policewomen (now that's a call for equality -- sama sama bodoh) flashing a torchlight into the cars to spot what ?? supposedly people wearing yellow shirts. Bodohnyerrrr....
The route that I take from Kinrara back to Bukit Jalil after work took 4 times longer than usual. And it definitely didn't help at all when some bodoh babi Malaysians decide to cut queue and use the emergency lane to create a third lane to suffocate an already bloody suffocating bottle necks at the road blocks.
Now if this is not infuriating, I don't know what else is... But apparently I am not angry at the Bersih protest. It's the other zhu-tiew-piang at the other side. Bodoh babi!

c.l.e.a.n..........

2011-07-08T21:40:00.000+08:00

Police road blocks all over main roads bottle-necking 3-lanes roads to single lanes causing crazy jams all over the place. Funny the gov was talking so much about threat and inconveniences caused by the protesters, but up to now the only inconveniences I see are caused by the gov anyway..
First patient came in at 2111h, probably due to the police commotion on the road causing terrible jams, and the gov centered media propaganda that instilled fear among the people of the possible 'evil' that the Yellow Rally is up to. Guess they will never realize that their air headed message and deeds are the ones causing so much troubles to the people.

d.e.l.i.b.e.r.a.t.i.o.n....

2011-07-04T16:59:00.003+08:00

The only recipe for getting things done for procrastinators like me is -- deliberation! There's no other way but to force myself to do it.. Like writing this blog entry. I'm doing this throughout the day, let's see how long can I last ;o)
No matter how much practice we get, it's never going to be easy to break bad news to the patients, especially for primigravids who just experienced bleeding with clots well into the end of their first trimester. I've had mothers who seems strong and accepting when I tell them of the probability of miscarriage, and they really do make the job done easier. The one I had this morning cried on the ultrasound couch when I couldn't find the foetus via scan. Yeah, losing a baby even as young as 12 weeks old can be very depressing. And doctors had better equip themselves with soothing words to say should they get trapped in such situations.
Early weekday clinics are kinda shittey to run. I guess 7 out of 10 ends up with MC, and ore often than not, they will spin up some symptoms that don't really tie up with their conditions, and I end up pressing my mind unnecessarily trying to figure out the logic of their symptom reporting.
Learning how to write my name in Thai ARTEO (อาเตียว)... cool... but somehow it is back-translated to Ming Zhang by Google translate, god knows what that means... RODDY is (ร๊อดดี้).
Got to know that one is allowed to become short term monk in Thailand, where he will spend the mornings and evenings in prayers and the day time attending Dharma classes. So one can choose to become a monk for 7 days, 15 days or 30 days. Thought that's kinda fun. The head shaving isn't optional though...
Have not been able to be disciplined with taking Aviance Slym pills... Got to find other motivation to do it, since paying a huge bomb for it doesn't seem to pinch anymore.
Ah... can't wait for Transformers III later. Tickets are sold out for all the nearby cinemas and there are no seats further than the 3rd row from the screen, that's absurd! Lastly I had to make do with watching it at Tropicana, on a Monday night. It had better be worth it!
Blogging stopped at 1740pm approximately...

tiny...

2011-06-26T22:23:00.000+08:00

Remembering you...

:o)

26.06.2002

remembering mj........

2011-06-25T23:25:00.002+08:00

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

pausing and reflecting on my desert walk........

2011-06-20T15:57:00.000+08:00

Been pestered by so many of my friends about going back to Church. It has been a while. Four years perhaps?
Something stirred back when I was watching Glee (Grilled Cheesus) that reminds me of that yearning to yield to a higher and greater power I used to think I was chummy-chummy with.
Maybe it's time to drop by for a visit... ;o)

evidence that arteo's still alive.....

2011-06-06T21:06:00.002+08:00

It's been a while, yeah. I've been meaning to jot down notes on my less than interesting life events but every time I signed in and opened the notepad programme, I'd be overwhelmed by things to write and in the end I'd lose the mood and start facebooking away.
As I was just reading a post on a friend's blog, I am reminded that writing things down may not necessarily mean I am assuming that people are interested with my life, rather it be a black and white evident just in case of amnesia or suffering such consequences of old age.
Currently doing locum at KDA Kinrara, trying to recover from the damage done at Bangkok. Guess I'll be talking about Bangkok in another post.
I've since passed my Master, and now continuing to do the Doctorate part of the deal. Starting only in September, these 3 months would be a pain to pass. The Uni is entrusted to keep us occupied and each one of us are assigned for a project to do. Other than that, I still have a thesis proposal to submit and impress the panel with, since I screwed up one of the core subjects by getting a B-.
I thought being such a people person, I'd have no problem getting through Society and Behavior in Health module. Maybe I'm not so much a people person after all. Maybe I'm an anti-social unknowingly!
Anyway, the clinic's closing and so I have to finish this sentence and log off. I can hear the admin staff crunching the cash register outside, this is my favorite time of the day -- getting paid! ;o)
If I'm lucky, the Chinese kopitiam nextdoor would still have some bakchang left. Happy bakchang day!!

a depressing conversation.....

2011-05-03T15:05:00.002+08:00

I was just walking out of the faculty, head hung low from the trauma I got in the exam hall when I saw my lecturer, from Health Management department.

Dato':So Roddy, how's your exam?
Arteo:Not too good, Dato'. It was depressing...
Dato':Owh, what paper was it today? Epidemiology?
Arteo:Yes, Epid, Dato'.
Dato':Is Epid elective?
Arteo:Yes it is.
Dato':Good then you asked for it! (sinister laugh, a cross between Dr Evil's and that of Megamind)
Arteo: ... ... ...

Now I'm depressed!

exultet - praeconium paschale........

2011-04-24T11:22:00.000+08:00

Happy Easter! I may have missed the whole Lent and Easter (again, yeah) but I'll remind me of that by posting up the exultet, first time heard many (many many) years back by Fr Simon of SFX, PJ. Loved it since. Let's see if I am able to post up the mp3 version of this prayer in Gregorian style ;o)

Dominus sit in corde meo, et in labiis meis, ut digne et competenter annuntiem suum paschale praeconium. Amen.

Exsultet iam Angelica turba caelorum: exsultent divina mysteria: et pro tanti Regis victoria, tuba insonet salutaris.

Gaudeat et tellus tantis irradiata fulgoribus: et aeterni Regis splendore illustrata, totius orbis se sentiat amisisse caliginem.

Laetetur et mater Ecclesia, tanti luminis adornata fulgoribus: et magnis populorum vocibus haec aula resultet.

Quapropter astantes vos, fratres carissimi, ad tam miram huius sancti luminis claritatem, una mecum, quaeso, Dei omnipotentis misericordiam invocate. Ut qui me non meis meritis intra Levitarum numerum dignatus est aggregare: luminis sui claritatem infundens, Cerei huius laudem implere perficiat.

Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium suum: qui cum eo vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

Dominus vobiscum.

Et cum spiritu tuo.

Sursum corda.

Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.

Dignum et iustum est.

Vere dignum et iustum est, invisibilem Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Filiumque eius unigenium, Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum, toto cordis ac mentis affectu, et vocis ministerio personare. Qui pro nobis aeterno Patri, Adae debitum solvit: et veteris piaculi cautionem pio cruore detersit.

Haec sunt enim festa paschalia, in quibus verus ille Agnus occiditur, cuius sanguine postes fidelium consecrantur.

Haec nox est, in qua primum patres nostros filios Israel eductos de Aegypto, mare Rubrum sicco vestigio transire fecisti.

Haec igitur nox est, quae peccatorum tenebras, columnae illuminatione purgavit.

Haec nox est, quae hodie per universum mundum, in Christo credentes, a vitiis saeculi, et caligine peccatorum segregatos, reddit gratiae, sociat sanctitati.

Haec nox est, in qua destructus vinculis mortis, Christus ab inferis victor ascendit. Nihil enim nobis nasci profuit, nisi redimi profuisset.

O mira circa nos tuae pietatis dignatio!

O inaestimabilis dilectio caritatis: ut servum redimeres, Filium tradidisti!

O certe necessarium Adae peccatum, quod Christi morte deletum est!

O felix culpa, quae talem ac tantum meruit habere Redemptorem!

O vere beata nox, quae sola meruit scire tempus et horam, in qua Christus ab inferis resurrexit! Haec nox est, de qua scriptum est: Et nox sicut dies illuminabitur: et nox illuminatio mea in deliciis meis.

Huius igitur sanctificatio noctis fugat scelera, culpas lavat: et reddit innocentiam lapsis, et moestis laetitiam. Fugat odia, concordiam parat, et curvat imperia.

In huius igitur noctis gratia, suscipe, sancte Pater, incensi huius sacrificium vespertinum: quod tibi in hac Cerei oblatione solemni, per ministrorum manus de operibus apum, sacrosancta reddit Ecclesia.

Sed iam columnae huius praeconia novimus, quam in honorem Dei rutilans ignis accendit. Qui licet sit divisus in partes, mutuati tamen luminis detrimenta non novit. Alitur enim liquantibus ceris, quas in substantiam pretiosae huius lampadis, apis mater eduxit.

O vere beata nox, quae exspoiliavit Aegyptos, ditavit Hebraeos! Nox, in qua terrenis caelestia, humanis divina iunguntur.

Oramus ergo te, Domine: ut Cereus iste in honorem tui nominis consecratus, ad noctis huius caliginem destruendam, indeficiens perseveret. Et in odorem suavitatis acceptus, supernis luminaribus misceatur. Flammas eius lucifer matutinus inveniat. Ille, qui regressus ab inferis, humano generi serenus illuxit.

Precamur ergo te, Domine: ut nos famulos tuos, omnemque clerum, et devotissimum populum: una cum beatissimo Papa nostro N. et Antistite nostro N. quiete temporum concessa, in his paschalibus gaudiis, assidua protectione regere, gubernare, et conservare digneris.

Respice etiam ad eos, qui nos in potestate regunt, et, ineffabili pietatis et misericordiae tuae munere, dirige cogitationes eorum ad iustitiam et pacem, ut de terrena operositate ad caelestem patriam perveniant cum omni populo tuo.

Per Christum Filium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus:

Per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

quote from coelho...

2011-04-15T21:09:00.001+08:00

An excerpt from his book. I miss reading fictions...

sunday is pizza day.........

2011-04-03T15:27:00.005+08:00

All set to improve the prototype hawaiian pizza tuna from yesterday, here's a step by step footage of the whole process. Yumm in the making!

The ingredients: plain tortilla, canned pineapples, sliced mushrooms (RM5.99 @Cold Storage)

Shredded mozzarella cheese, canned tuna in light oil...

First, to ease the spread of tuna chunks, mix it into the pasta sauce

This makes it easier to even out the layer of tuna than to put them on separately.

Squeeze the syrup out of the pineapples by pressing them in between two spoons. This will prevent the tortilla from becoming soggy from the syrup. distribute evenly on pizza.

Then layer down the mushrooms, in my case, as much as possible! ;o)

Next, the mozzarella cheese, all over.

Bake at 230 degree Celcius, for about 10 minutes or until the mozza has melted over. If the oven hasn't been preheated earlier, it may take longer.

Finally, to make it authentically seafood hawaiian tuna pizza, some bits of nori seaweed to complete the topping ;o)

Estimated preparation time: 20 mins.
Estimated survival on plate: about 5, or less.

Next try out, substituting the pineapple with Italian herbs and low fat mayo.

Just as yummy. Now move aside, Jamie ;oP

gasp.... starbucks has gone instant........

2011-04-03T09:28:00.001+08:00

Don't be too excited yet guys, this is in HongKong...

lazy guy's hawaiian tuna pizza..........

2011-04-02T23:30:00.004+08:00

Okay, I've got the wrong type of cheese going on here, but nothing that a short trip to Cold Storage won't rectify. Pineapple needs to be drained before topping to prevent sogging up the tortilla. Maybe a little of olive oil on the edge of the tortilla will prevent it from crisping too much. I'll post up a better looking result next.

tuna pizza........

2011-04-01T19:54:00.004+08:00

The lazy guy's tuna pizza.

Canned tuna in oil
Tomato based pasta sauce with fresh mushroom and herb
Mushroom
Tortilla bread
Cheese
Canned pineapple
Italian herbs mix

All set. I've decided lunch for tomorrow.

earth hour 2011, 2030hr........

2011-03-26T22:10:00.002+08:00

Photo credit - Brandon Nicholas Nathaniel Teo

So what did you do?

yihyi reposted...

2011-03-19T22:20:00.003+08:00

Emme was reporting about YihYi's progress earlier, about how she can now recognise colours and knows the meaning of traffic lights. And YihYi keeps on asking when will I come back from school. Kasian semua...

Feeling Maximus Missimus right now... :'oS

breaking the silence.........

2011-03-19T20:35:00.000+08:00

Phew. It's been a while. I'd love to say that I was extremely busy caught up in studies and work, and have no time to blog, but that wouldn't exactly be true. But then again, it isn't exactly untrue either.
The second semester in MPH is kinda crazy. I probably won't be alone in saying that even at this stage where we're 3/4 on our way to getting a master degree in Public Health, many many of us are still floating on a limbo about what's happening with studies. The thought scares the shit out of me, especially at night when I'm about to sleep and I have that few minutes to reflect on my life.
Thank goodness for actifed pills, which I occasionally (more often nowadays) abuse for its side effect, those thoughtful reflections are cut down to few minutes only, then I'd doze off to a beautiful uninterrupted slumber, and wake up fresh the next morning so I could procrastinate some more ;o)
There's so much in my mind right now. The exams. The seminars. The debate. The weight loss. Or the plateau of weight loss rather.
CNY has done some damage I've yet to salvage. I've conveniently dropped out of GX classes due to the mismatched scheduling, but I've leveled up my cycling effort on the stationary bike to max and burn off 500kcal every session. I suppose that's not enough. The last trip to the body-stats machine left me pretty depressed again. Sigh.
Maybe I shouldn't be looking at the ideal weight at this point. I guess my intermediate target should be to get off the obesity BMI zone. That sounds more doable. Short term goal may help build up some self esteem here ;o)
Red Nose Day Malaysia unfortunately has to be postponed. Not an easy thing for me to swallow, involving a lot of dying of the ego before I admit defeat and had to let it be postponed. Feel like venting much, but I suppose that would be counter productive, so I'll just take it positively, after all, I need to be focusing on my exams ;o)
The new date for RNDM is tentatively 12th June 2011, the day before school reopens middle this year. After that I'll be planning the trip home for dad's big birthday ;o)

what's hanging from your tow hook?

2011-03-17T16:23:00.004+08:00

I've been noticing some peculiar trending among mini / compact car drivers in KL, hanging some sort of plush toys (usually same colour as their car) from the tow hoof at the rear end. I was curious so I did a little bit of googling, and found this explanation. Think I'm hanging something from my tow hook soon too ;o) or maybe I'll just hang a bucket.

"For some reason, it has become some sort of trend for people to hang toys or other items of their cars' rear tow hook, but the origination of this trend came from the Bosozoku (street gangsters with fixed up cars) in Japan. It was a Bosozoku trend to hang a small tin bucket from their rear tow hook to show off how low their cars were- they got the idea from seeing cement trucks in Japan, which always had a bucket hanging off the rear of the truck. The cement trucks used the bucket as a "catch can" of sorts, so that excess cement from the truck wouldn't spill onto the pavement. Inspired by this, the bosozoku trend setters attached small buckets to their rear tow hooks to show how low their bucket could hang- if your car was so low that the bucket could scrape on things as you were driving , they thought it was cool as hell."

Then Ben told me about the truck deco that looks like human testicles, and I think I'm getting these instead, haha....

(wikipedia) Truck nuts, also known as truck balls, BumperNuts, BumperBalls, or truck scrotums, are accessories for pickup trucks and other vehicles. Capitalizing upon the association of trucks with machismo, truck nuts resemble human testicles inside scrota of various colors. This trend began in the United States in 1998 and first sold on the internet in 1999. Truck nuts are used as a statement by the car, truck, ATV, and/or motorcycle owner to boast/amuse/shock him/her self and others. Truck nuts are installed at the rear of the vehicle in such a way that they are suspended in full view of motorists, motor cyclists, bicyclers, lorry drivers, bus drivers, pedestrians, and others behind them.

So cooool!! Where can I get these?

seeking talents, behind and in front of the camera...

2011-02-11T15:13:00.001+08:00

RED NOSE DAY T-SHIRT MONTAGE

Hey hey, people!! We're looking for people with nice sweet face and smile :-) to pose portraits of themselves wearing a red nose like this ;o) The pictures will be arranged into a collage to create a montage, of which the Red Nose icon will be super-imposed on, like the sample I've posted earlier. We have relatively short time to do it, so I'm hunting for serious SERIOUS volunteers to help me out with this.

ARE YOU GAME???

Okay, first, we'll need the photographers. Anyone with a digital camera that can take decent pictures with a white background would be good enough. A decent camera means it can take up to 5 megapixels picture size, so technically any compact digital cameras made after the year 2005 would be able to do the trick. DSLRs are GRREAATT but hardly necessary ;o)

We will need the photographers to send the pictures, unedited, to me at arteo@yahoo.com so I can pass them to the design person in the merchandising team of the project. We'll need the format to be upper body, 4x3" @ 300dpi. Since we need about 50 pictures of different poses to make a good randomly distributed montage, we need at least 5 volunteer photographers.

Buzz me as soon as you read this and would be able to help out ;o) We'll really like it if you have celebrities friends who want to lend a hand...errr... face. We'll need to standardise the pictures so please contact me to get the red nose to be used on the models.

RED NOSE ON ;o)

That was about the photographers. Now the talents. It doesn't matter if no one other than your mom thinks that you've got a likable face, as long as you have eyes that can wink, a nose to clip the red nose on, and a mouth that can smile, we'll take you in ;o) Okay, maybe that wasn't haha funny. Anyway...

We're looking for people who'd want to have their face to be a part of the montage. We need people of all sizes, colours and structures. What needed is a few pictures of you doing certain poses ;o) To standardise the pictures, we'll need to adhere to these few instructions:

Models must be wearing plain coloured shirts with no graphics. Any types of collar is okay.
Red nose is distributed to volunteering photographers. I'll put you in touch with a photographer nearest to you ;o)
We'll have you do 3 pictures, one facing the camera winking and smiling, 2 freestyles.
All pictures taken down to chest level only, like passport photo, maybe slightly lower... so it's okay if you have a thing about not wearing pants ;o)
Back ground must be white (any hue of white is okay)

Buzz me if you want to appear on our t-shirts ;o) I'll tell you more about the project ;o)

mushrooms galore........

2011-01-25T15:03:00.002+08:00

My lunch today. Planned this for 2 days already, since I didn't get back in time to cook after gym last night, so I sped back home after class and start on this culinary project ;o) yummy...

I'm yet to name this dish yet. Ideas?

The ingredients:

Portobello, swiss whites, brown buttons and Korean enoki. Sliced beef is marinated and then stir fried for a few minutes before adding in the mushrooms and seasonings. Salt is added last, just a sprinkle, to prevent water from the mushrooms leaking out and making them soggy.

Last weekend's dinner -- spiral pasta with bbq cheese added to the mushroom tomato sauce. Beef is grilled with Italian herbs rub. Chef Jey lead the production that day.

red nose project coffee chat #2..................

2011-01-21T11:01:00.001+08:00

18.01.2011, sbux jayaone, pj

Hey hey! Admittedly this has been a very very late minute on our last meeting. Sincere apologies on my side.
The second Coffee session was held last Tuesday at the same place and time, and we had 3 new people joining us ;o) Sheon came, Shuey brought 3 new friends over -- Wai Ling, Patrick and Dr Irinda. Unfortunately Albert has a meeting on, Garrett was not well, and so was Sheon's friend who planned to come. Anyway, here's wishing a speedy recovery for them ;o)
Okay, now the brief on stuffs that were discussed. We were joined by 2 staffs of Malaysian AIDS Council, Azahemy and a friend, to explain to us the related issues on fund raising for Malaysian AIDS Foundation. They seemed alright about the idea of the project, just needing a proposal paper to help explain better to the MAF Board of Trustees. I am yet to receive the document on MAF Fund-raising guideline from them, but once I have read through it, I'll summarise it here for you guys ;o) I will also have to prepare the Project Proposal write up for them by Monday. Ah... there goes my weekend ;o/
The amount of money that is set as fund-raising target may be pledged on a contract basis, and we "might" be liable to meeting the amount. That kinda scare us off a little bit, and have decided to bring the number down from RM50k to RM20k. Let's try small for the first time, and over-achieving our target has a nice ring to it ;o)
The structure of the Red Nose Project has been modified slightly to better suit the current existing programmes. Rather than having the finale Red Nose Day as a stand-alone event, we're thinking of piggy-riding on The Malay Mail Walkathon planned on the 3rd April 2011. MAF is also their main beneficiary for this fund raising walkathon. Perhaps an army of Red Nose walker will be at Dataran Merdeka, also to promote awareness on HIV/AIDS as it happens ;o)
The mob flash (RED FLASH) is still on as previously planned, on the week 12 weekend (26th or 27th March). The locations is still tentatively at the front open space of Pavilion KL. We're still deciding on the thing to do (rather than just appearing with a red nose) maybe a choreographed movement?
The Comedian show may be shifted to week 13 weekend (1st or 2nd April). We're still yet to get any comedians to agree to join our project, but I guess it's not time to panic yet. We'll keep om trying ;o) We're discussing the location that is probable to stage the comedian show. Any suggestions on a space that can hold up to 300-400 pax? We're thinking of asking the TAR Uni (PJ) for their auditorium. Got contacts?
Rather than setting up a bazaar / garage sale on our own, we've discussed the possibility of just putting up a booth or two, in any existing bazaars or flea markets. This is basically for the Red Nose Project to gain publicity and we're inviting people to come as vendors under Red Nose Project and pledge the proceeds to the cause. Anything with a Red Nose theme would be nice ;o)
We're getting samples from 2 resources for the plastic red nose. It's still happening too slowly, and I am getting slightly anxious over this issue ;o/ But thanks Sheon, for reminding me that this project is supposed to be fun and there's very little benefit to gain from getting myself worked up and stressed ;o) Maybe another cup of coffee would help!
Since the bulk of the fund is estimated to come from corporate sponsorship, we have to start the soft approach to the companies already and get them to consider donating to our cause ;o)
The next coffee session is scheduled at the same time and place next week, unless there's any other suggestions? Don't miss the fun, come join us for a cup of coffee and we'll chat ;o)

shiitake happens......!

2011-01-15T10:44:00.003+08:00

The worst part about home cooking is...

...the cleaning up ;o(

I love mushrooms... can't you tell?

clockwise from top: runny yolk sunny side up (my favourite), smoked chicken franks, stir-fried shiitake with lemon and pepper seasoning (using fresh mushrooms makes all the difference), hash browns, strips of japanese cucumber

stir fried minced beef marinated with japanese sauce, with fresh shiitake, japanese cucumber and spring onion

3 coffees, red honkers and celebrities.....

2011-01-14T22:37:00.000+08:00

Feeling kinda restless -- having tremors and palpitations from caffeine overdosing but weirdly my mind is still lagging... Feeling so sleepy. Been doing gym everyday ;o) for the past 5 days, and depriving myself of afternoon naps. Trying to readjust the diurnal sleep pattern, will... get... through... this... eventually... I know... zzz......
Feeling the void from post Toy Story Project, I quickly launched the Red Nose Project. Much criticism on the project initially, from the motives of a fun-in-return type of charity, to the seemingly short time for planning and fund raising. Putting the tentative date for Red Nose Day Malaysia on 1.04.11, I still feel that it's a little way to far to get people sufficiently excited at this point of time. Got to strengthen the core group running the show first.
Wrote to a few celebrities but have not gotten any responds yet ;o( but I'm still writing more anyway...

red nose coffee chat #1.......

2011-01-12T15:28:00.002+08:00

Coffee Talk 01 - 11.01.11

Thanks very much to Sheon, Albert, Garret, Shuey and Tony (for coming along a short while) for participating in the brainstorming session at Starbucks JayaOne. We were expecting more would come ;o) but anyway the group was appropriately small for a more intimate brainstorming activity ;o)
To keep our discussion ambiance at a more relaxed tone, meetings will be called Coffee sessions. Minutes of discussion will be presented in blog form. Nice?
The purpose of that first session of brainstorming was to lay down the basic methodology by which we would carry out this fund raising project. The mood of the project was set to 'casual and easy' by majority consensus. Rationale being that we've been subject to hard structure at work from 9 to 5, so this project would preferably be carried out in a more flexible rhythm -- as friends who want to do a bit of good and have fun while at it ;o)
The main objective for organising Red Nose Project, primarily is to raise fund to benefit the HIV shelter homes that are affiliated with Malaysian AIDS Council.
Secondary objectives are to raise public awareness on HIV issues, and of course, to have fun in the process.
As discussed during the first coffee session, logically we only have time to do 2 collateral events and a finale (which is scheduled on 1 April). These 3 events would be the fund raising components of the project. Another activity that is not a part of the fund raising effort, but more of a publicity effort -- by doing a flash mob activity, will also be planned.
According to a document that I've got from MAC, there are 19 shelter homes in Malaysia catering for PLWHA (people living with HIV and AIDS), but only 6 of them cater for children. There are 3 in KL, and 1 in Sabah, Kelantan and Pahang respectively. So we're targeting these 6 homes specifically.
The events that are listed (but subject to improvements and further development of ideas) include a stand up comedian show, a garage sale / flea market and a finale event which we have yet any ideas on what type of event to organise.
At this point, some of us are doing our initial contacts with some funny people that may help us with the events -- Harith Iskander, Doudlas Lim, Adibah Noor, JJ and Ean. Any other connections to other funny people are very much welcomed ;o)
Albert, Garrett and Christine are working on sourcing the red nose.
We have no objections for companies to use our events as marketing scheme as long as we're achieving our fund raising objectives, but this point would have to be developed further.
We would be getting someone from MAF to sit in our Coffee sessions to advise us on the fund transactions protocols from corporate donors and such. Arteo will call MAF again soon, before the next Coffee.
To start small, we've put RM50k as our target amount of fund raising this time. The amount is still open for discussion. We'll have to solidify our targets and events to plan by the next Coffee session. We all promised to sleep on it first ;o) I hope we won't be insomniac after all that coffee...
The next Coffee session will be at the same place, same time next week 18.01.11. Invitations will be through an event page. Click on "attend" please ;o)

arteo

trying out fusion........

2011-01-10T00:49:00.002+08:00

Hearty meal in a plate, where East meets West ;oP

~Spaghetti Al Fungi, with mushroom tomato sauce and smoked cheese~
~Stir fried blanched asparagus with garlic~
~Gung-pao chicken with Korean Seaweed~

GUNG-PAO CHICKEN

Chicken cutlets marinated in Italian herbs and oyster sauce
Sliced onion x1
Diced yellow bell pepper x1 medium size
Dried chilli x10, seeded
Wasabi flavoured cashew and macadamia nuts x1 small packet from Tong's
Korean seaweed, flavoured with sesame

STIR FRIED BABY BUTTERHEAD

Baby Butterhead leaves
Fishcake
Oyster sauce

Chef Jeremy at work...

arteo gets a new laptop........

2011-01-08T20:21:00.008+08:00

the spankin' brand new gadget -- ASUS A42JE

Went for computer shopping at the PJ Digital Mall yesterday. Man, I am so not in tune with the computer lingo, I just can't pretend I'm smart enough to know what I want. All I can say is I need 3 things done -- do a thesis, go online, and occasionally watch a movie.
Had a dilemma of either getting a laptop, or a desktop. Since portability is already provided by my netbook, I don't need another mobile computer to lug around, so that benefit is not considered in getting my next computer. Most of the sales people manning the shops there are more, if not just as dungu as I am, I feel. All these youngsters want to do is to impress me with how well their machine can carry a gaming software, which is totally redundant to me. If it's all included, I might even ask for it to be removed just to save on a few grams of weight. Totally of no use to me.
So I went around searching for a computer that hopefully will stick around till I finished my thesis, based on how well the sales chap can talk... and answer my questions correctly, I mean convincingly, and don't make me roll my eyes. And I found him at Tech World IT Sdn Bhd.
Finally I came home with something out of the convention -- I've been buying from HP for the past 2 computers, and before that, Acer. But now, I'm getting myself an ASUS. Meet my new baby -- Asus A42JE !! RM1799 plus so many collaterals thrown in, including another cool laptop bag, cooler fan, ecobag, mouse, pad, wrist rest, cleaning gadgets, etc etc..
My laptop that just conked was one of the few remaining earlier generation HP Pavilion with touch screen that can be flipped backwards to become a tablet pc. This model has cought on such a lousy reputation in the market, with so many complains, that I was not able to trade it in before it crashed. Anyway, I guess mine was one of the lucky ones to have lasted this long. I just hope that Asus A42JE will last for the next 4 years at least ;o)

rest well in peace, friend, we've been through a lot together

ie almost the whole season of Gilmore Girls, Chuck 1&2, Heroes and Sex and the City...

arteo's thoughts on red nose project 2011..........

2011-01-08T01:45:00.003+08:00

Hey hey... how's everybody? Hope you had a blast during the New Year holiday!

As promised, here's a little thought on the next project that we can do together, it's called The Red Nose Project ;o) read on and hope you'll be excited about it too ;o)

RED NOSE PROJECT
Inspired by the Red Nose Day of UK, we're motivated to join in the fun by organising (of course) fun filled events that involves people participation. Red Nose Project is a series of events organised to raise fund for local charities.

WHY RED NOSE PROJECT?
Because we'll all be wearing our Red Nose during the events! The Red Nose is all about injecting the element of FUN into the activities, a reminder to enjoy what we're doing, even for events as serious as a fund raiser ;o) It's also a way to say that we're doing ordinary things in extra-ordinary ways.

WHAT KIND OF EVENTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?
That's where YOU come in ;o) we need to brainstorm on what types of activities we can do together! Events can be of any social function involving the public, preferably FUN type of events ;o) During these events, we'll all be wearing our Red Noses. Imagine everybody with a clown nose... now, isn't that fun? Let's start small for the first year, let's see if we can come up with a couple of events. Maybe 3. Or 4? Or 5?

The Project will then close with the summit event on the 1st of April, which is also April Fool's Day. Imagining an event perhaps involving some of our local comedians... Have a bit of publicity going on... Get people to be aware of what we're doing... and next year we'll plan slightly bigger ;oD

Events are definitely not finalised yet... I've some suggestion scribbled in my notebook. Have any swell ideas? Jot them in your books and when we meet up, lets compare notes ;o) Since events may take a bit of planning, lets meet up real soon ;o)

HOW DO WE RAISE FUNDS BY WEARING RED NOSE?
Ah, the money talk... During events, we'll be dishing out Red Noses to participants for an exchange of a small donation... I'm thinking RM10/nose... proceeds from these Red Nose will then be channeled to local charities.

WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT COULD NOT JOIN THE EVENTS?
People who are excited about the cause of Red Nose Projects may infect their school-mates / office-mates / family members with the same enthusiasm. Just pledge a donation to the charity and we'll send them the Red Noses to wherever they are ;o) They can then organise their own Red Nose Event in their schools / offices and take lots of pictures, or just have a group picture taken with everybody sporting a Red Nose, and upload it to our Red Nose Project Facebook page.

WHAT RED NOSE PROJECT FACEBOOK PAGE?
Exactly. Currently it is still not in existence. During the last project (if you still remember Operation Toy Story 2010) Kennedy has been (strongly) suggesting that we should have a FB event page where people can join in, get more infos, upload photos etc... Okay now the confession -- I suck at stuffs like these -- and I really hope someone would volunteer to help with these techno stuffs ;o) Maybe Kennedy would like to volunteer? Hehe...

PROJECT GOALS
1. Promote awareness on HIV issues -- we can discuss the scope when we meet ;o)
2. Raise fund in aid of shelter homes that cater for HIV infected / affected children
3. Create a medium of social networking through project organisation and participation
4. Have some fun ;o)

WHO ARE THE CHARITY BENEFICIARIES?
I am in the middle of collecting information from Malaysian AIDS Council on their affiliated shelter homes. The need is definitely there, I've been involved in a shelter home running for the same cause in Kota Kinabalu previously. There is much work to do to create awareness, reducing social stigma and provide resources for the continuous operations of such shelter homes. My passion is for the Paediatrics HIV.

PROJECT SCHEDULE
Since the Red Nose Day is tentatively scheduled for April 1st, we have still about 2 1/2 months to plan, organise and carry out the programmes. I have given myself till the end of this month to source for Red Noses and identify the shelter homes in need of funding. We have to meet as soon as possible to brainstorm on ideas.

I'm pretty excited about this, so do buzz me, or email me back here if you're interested. Lets get together and we'll talk shop okay ;o)

Now you also know why I use this ;o) so much... I'm already wearing a Red Nose all along ;o)

Hear from you soon, ya!!

arteo

things i'm missing right now.......

2011-01-06T11:22:00.003+08:00

chicken feet soup, crispy cucur and fresh ikan bakar
Pasar Sim-sim, Sandakan

my potted plants in the office. never dies, never fails. very calming indeed
just need a lil' sunshine.... or fluorescent light would do just fine
Beluran Health Office

the stuff i do when i'm stressed... transforming these fellas to vehicle mode, then robot mode, then vehicle mode, then....
Beluran Health Office

christmas wish, economics, a.g.e. outbreaks and clown noses.....

2011-01-04T23:38:00.003+08:00

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Generally a good day today. The dreaded Health Economics class turned out to be very interesting. It could be because of the interesting way our lecturer DrN presented economics to us (and also the umpteen reminders of how she loves Cadbury Chocolate Family-size Bar, Milk Chocolate No Nuts No fruits, preferably Not Made in Malaysia) haha. But she sure whipped up the entire class' appetite for more of her lectures (other than the appetite for KFC Original Recipe drumsticks with sides of coleslaw, whipped potato and a bun)
Got my Christmas present today. Late, but very timely. I was at Bangsar Village II waiting for Garrett to go lunch, and there was this blind guy on the piano serenading away. So I helped myself to the free performance. And suddenly he stopped and I guess it was the intermission, but I asked him if he could play O'er the Rainbow for me. He obliged and did the slow-jazz rendition of that song. Loved it. Loved it much! He's good!
Jeremy has had food poisoning over the New Year weekend, and he wasn't able to eat anything for more than 24 hours, so I brought him to UMMC thinking of getting him put on a drip. At first he was given a Triage 3, so I told the counter fella that I'll put the drip on myself so he was changed to Triage 2. After getting a bed and got his vitals taken, I realised that I wasn't allowed to put a line for him, as I am not a staff of UMMC. So we got demoted back to Triage 3, and out to the Common Waiting Hall we were for the next 2 hours. We even watched a whole movie on TV about a dog who could fly and wears a cape, from abut 30 meters away, and never even really found out the title of that movie. Finally he got fed up, and decided to leave. Fortunately he was okay and able to tolerate sips till the next day.
Found out that Garrett was down with food poisoning too, and right after our lunch today, he went back to puke some more. He found a curly piece of hair in his second round of fried rice in PapaRich (ullgghh) and got it replaced after downing half of it. So he ended up eating 2 1/2 portions of fried rice with eggs. My suspicion is overloading on fried rice, however, haha.
Went over to a party supplies shop in Bangsar and found a red nose there. RM5.90 per piece, but not exactly the type I was looking for. So the hunt continues...

cheaper than eating out....?

2011-01-03T22:12:00.003+08:00

Hardly, I guess... but this is just the beginning, and soon I'll be cooking boring cheap stuffs not worthy of blog posts... till then, let me pride over my creations ;o)

Okay this first one isn't really a creation, just crack, tear, throw in pan and stir fry...

Sunday breakfast
~SUNNY-SIDE-UP, OMEGA-3 ENRICHED EGGS~
~SMOKED CHICKEN FRANKS~
~CHICKEN HAMS~
~PAN-TOASTED MULTIGRAINS BREAD~

single course dinner
~SPAGHETTI WITH ITALIAN HERBS AND EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL DRESSING~
~TOPPED WITH PAN FRIED CHICKEN BREAST MARINATED WITH LEMON AND PEPPER, AND SQUEEZED FRESH CHERRY TOMATOES~
~ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON AND PEPPER~

when service tax is up to 6 percent........

2011-01-03T00:04:00.006+08:00

While the Government has decided to postpone the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST), it has increased Government Services tax from 5 percent to 6 percent effective on 1 Jan, 2011.

Time to learn to cook and put my Jamie Oliver cookbooks to good use!

Dessert
~FROZEN STRAWBERRY YOGURT WITH FROZEN GRAPES AND APPLE SLICES~

main course
~SPAGHETTI AL FUNGI IN CHEESE AND HERBS SAUCE~
~MEDIUM DONE KNUCKLE CUT IMPORTED BEEF MARINATED WITH ITALIAN HERBS AND JAPANESE SAUCE~

side of

~TRIPLE WASHED GARDEN SALAD IN VINAIGRETTE DRESSING~

main dish
~PAN GRILLED SALMON STEAK WITH ITALIAN HERBS RUB~

main dish
~BLANCHED BROCCOLI IN GARLIC DRESSING~

main dish
~PAN FRIED CHICKEN CUTLETS IN JAPANESE SAUCE~

main dish
~SPAGHETTI AL FUNGI IN FRESH MUSHROOM SAUCE WITH SMOKED CHEESE~

eleven resolutions for the two-owh-one-one......

2011-01-01T12:43:00.004+08:00

the gunturun is difficult to control... breathe... breathe... breathe...

Stop procrastineting. I'll check the spelling later.
Listen more, talk less...
Remember to breathe. Bite the urge to retort. Be milder of temperament.
Gym, gym, gym, gym, gym...
Drop 6 inches. Maybe 4. Why not 6... Okay, 4...
Learn something new. Perhaps start on the felt-craft project.
Start on Wings Connection
Cook more often.
Have more ME TIME.
Run a marathon. Or at least join one.
Go vacation...

For those who need help coming up with New Year resolutions, click here

happy new year 2011.......!

2011-01-01T00:26:00.002+08:00

See'ya 2010, it's been great ;oP Thanks very much!! Now to aim higher and better for 2011 ;o) love, hope and faith all the way! Happy New Year!

The socks doll sent by Florence for Operation Toy Story ;o) posing for photo before being sent to the kids

the year that was 2010..........

2010-12-31T00:58:00.006+08:00

for the first half of 2010, I was still flying over the mountain twice a week... now I'm missing the view...

I know, I know, the last few entries were crap entries but I really want to hit 100 posts for this year, so just let me continue ;o)
2010 was marked with quite a few major changes in life. Going on study leave to pursue Master in Public Health was one. It wasn't easy to regrease the brain engine after leaving it out rusty for donkey years. But it was probably the single most important decision that I've made in this year.
Leaving office was not so easy on the emotions. I've been working in the past 7 years, from managing a clinic to managing a state programme, and finally managing a district health office. I've worked with the best staffs, being guided by the best seniors who treated me like peers and was mentored by the best boss who believed in me. Coming back to studies where everyone starts from scratch, not so exciting.
MPH has been okay so far. First semester exam just passed and now waiting for the results in a few days time. The next semester starts on Monday. Having worked in the field did help in understanding concepts, but come exam, whatever I know may just freeze and refuse to come down in writing. Why that happened is still a mystery.
Okay, maybe I didn't mug hard enough. Promised myself to mug harder for next semester ':o/
Rekindled some lost friendships, made some new ones... and in the process made some 'dislikes' too perhaps. Learned that anger, frustration, disappointment is not the opposite of love, but can be part of love. Hate is the opposite of love. Since I don't hate anybody, I must be loving everybody! Oh wow...
But wait... then there was that person who stole our Christmas toys... okay, there is someone that I hate >:o(
The most exciting month has to be December when I turned an evening of depression into fruitful initiation to start on Project Toy Story. Now come to think of it, I have the 3 Ps to thank for doing the publicity (another P here)... Pang (of Annexe Gallery) Patrick Teoh (of Niamah!! blog) and Poesy (of Helping Angels)... Nice coincidence ;o) By the way, the name Operation Toy Story was coined by Pang, not me.
One of the frustrations I've had in this year, was the inability to keep to training discipline despite having a Personal Trainer to whip me around the exercise machines. One reflection from this. I guess I'm more comfortable climbing on the machines on my own effort than having someone push me there.
The total body fat composition is another strong drive to keep coming back to the gym. I was upset with the 42.2% earlier, which got me started with OTS. After a couple of weeks of going to the gym and toiling on OTS (and I swear I didn't stuff the face during Christmas) I couldn't believe my eyes when the body stats machine reads 43.3%! on the good side, my weight did drop.
Now that does it... I will not let some numbers (in percentage) define who I am. Now off to bigger projects....

some thoughts on the next project...

2010-12-31T00:49:00.003+08:00

where are you christmas?

2010-12-30T22:34:00.003+08:00

My Christmas theme song for this year...

Where Are You Christmas

Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play

My world is changing
I'm rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too?

Where are you Christmas
Do you remember
The one you used to know?
I'm not the same one
See what the time's done
Is that why you have let me go

Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Christmas is here
If you care, oh

If there is love in your heart and your mind
You will feel like Christmas all the time

I feel you Christmas
I know I've found you
You never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart with love

Where are you Christmas
Fill your heart with love

going back home for chinese new year!!....

2010-12-30T22:22:00.001+08:00

I'll be darned if I missed my flights again this time...

thank you note for operation toy story.....

2010-12-28T01:06:00.006+08:00

confession: I kept a Rex from the pile of donated toys, to remind myself of OTS2010

Took 2 days off from the Internet. It's midnight now but I told myself I must not sleep until I've written a thank you note to all donors, contributors, volunteers and publicists ;o) for Operation Toy Story '10.
So here goes -- A WARM AND HEARTY THANK YOU TO ALL DONORS. CONTRIBUTORS, VOLUNTEERS AND PUBLICISTS FOR MAKING OPERATION TOY STORY 2010 A GREAT SUCCESS!!
I must admit that I did not at all expected such overwhelming response from so many people that I've never known existed ;o) such is the power of electronic social networking! What started off as a 30 emails sent out to people I have in my friends list, ended up as far as Thailand and India!
1 day before d-day, my living room was a heaven for kids, with all sorts of toys from cute fluffy penguins to a 7-feet tall zebra (not kidding about the zebra), pianos and keyboards, talking and singing dolls, books, colouring stationery and mysterious wrapped gifts! Not too good for my housemate though because he's a neat freak and all that hoard is giving him a major headache.
On d-day, 4 cars were deployed to bring the toys to Base-Zero, a conference room kindly provided by Beely of Usana Health Sciences (many many many thanks to her, can't do it without her!) and from 3pm onwards, the volunteers gathered and started wrapping and categorising toys accordingly so that they'll be gender and age appropriate.
To keep the working morale high, some contributed snacks and drinks for us, we even had a kilo of butter cake made just for the event! Thanks to all who provided food, I really helped myself with the cakes ;oP
At 6pm, designated Scouts went on their way to get information on the numbers of kids who stayed back to spend Christmas in the wards. There were 7 wards in 3 different locations, so we split up and covered our given assignments. Had a slight glitch on the Onco ward initially, but it was rectified promptly with the help of an internal Mule, DrS who has been indispensable for this project since the beginning ;o) DrJ was roped in when I happened to cross her path on the way to the baby-ward, I've not seen her for the past 7 years and I had about 20 seconds to explain to her what's going to happen later that night, and she signed up immediately! And she brought along her minions of medical students!
After scouting we went back to Base-Zero to tag the presents and pack them according to wards. Even after pushing in 10% more toys into the loot (to account for late admissions), and filling a car-load worth of toys for the Paeds Day-care Unit, we had around 300+ extra toys and presents left and didn't know what to do with it.
The housemate gave me a sharp threatening look - a deadly warning that none of the toys should come back into our house ':o}
Finally they were donated to another volunteer's charity event, also involving kids just before the new year, yay!
The night ended after we shuttled the packed toys to the designated drop-off points at the hospital. The night duty nurses seems to be nicer and more accepting than the evening shift ones. Not sure why, but the sight of over sized plush animals with huge button eyes might have melted their hearts ;o)
The plan for an after-mission party didn't take off, the volunteers were so visibly tired from the day's work at the Toy Factory. I've had a splitting headache since the evening and was just too glad to be able to go home and have a warm shower ;o)
Many did ask in their sms the next morning, were the kids happy when they woke up on Christmas morning? Well, all I can say is, we'll probably never get to know, because Santa never stayed to watch anyway...
But of course they will be :o)
So, now for the aftermath -- cleaning up and clearing up the remaining of the toys. Some of them have been donated to other charities such as the refugee camps (since we're all about cheering up those who didn't get to be home for Christmas, so I thought it would be very fitting to give some to them).
Till the next project, have a Merry Merry Christmas, and a Wonderful New Year 2011!!

Luv, Arteo

tang-yuen, toys and the grinch who stole christmas toys.....

2010-12-22T17:43:00.005+08:00

you're on Santa's BAD BAD boy list, Grinch!

Can hardly find time to blog down updates on Operation Toy Story. Was on the move for the past few days, receiving tremendous amount of toys and gifts, Ookikuro could hardly be stuffed more at one point of time. Felling good, feeling the Fuzz. And also feeling tired, of course...
Winter Solstice today. Missing the tang-yuen that Kakak makes. It used to be without season in Asrama Budi, we had it whenever we feel like it, or whenever Kakak wasn't too tired to roll some gelatinous rice flour into marble sized yummy marbles. Moments like this makes me miss home much.
This week has been crazy with pickups for those that could not make it for the Annexe drop-off. Starting from Friday till yesterday I've been in shopping malls and driving all over Damansara, Subang and Mont Kiara under the hot sun and crazy rain.
The BJ condo right now looks like a petting zoo with so many kinds of fluffy animals in it, ducks, puppies, dinosaurs and mostly my species, the bears. Haha.
Just last night, a deranged individual (or maybe there are few of them I can't be too sure) broke into Albert's car, and swept away 1/3 of the toys that he collected on his side. I am actually upset about this, but some people had asked me to see it in brighter light, since it's Christmas... not sure I can do that. The Grinch will pay for what he's done! Fortunately Albert's car was okay. Note to all and myself: Do Not Leave ANYTHING not even toys in your cars!
Still having problem looking for a suitable place to centralise gifts and toys collection for wrapping and preparation before sending off to UMMC paeds wards on the 24th... Hoping to get a free space to fit around 20-30 working elves called Scouts, and maybe a bit of finger food pot luck while working... ;o)
Many lessons learned from doing this. One of them is: Need anything? Ask for it. Nicely.
Received a lot of undeserving pat on the back for doing this. In actual fact, the real Superstars are those who generously donated, and those that offered their help to drive around, to navigate, to pickup, to publicize and do scrubbing and conditioning of the toys, being on the phone to look for resources and space, and willing to offer up their own home for this project. When I started off writing the emails to ask for pre-loved toys, it was imagined like a size of a cupcake. Now I have a 3-levels fabulous cake of a project to handle. Wow.
I wish for this Christmas, to have someone play O'er the Rainbow, live on a piano, or violin, or guitar, that I can listen to with my eyes closed and imagine that wonderful place beyond the rainbow where my troubles would melt like lemon-drops. Haha. Or What A Wonderful World. My two all time favourite songs.

letter from a fellow dreamer, a kindred spirit........

2010-12-21T01:18:00.000+08:00

20 December at 12:09

Hey there,

Its Christmas time once again. And somehow, the holiday season never fails to remind me of all of you. Maybe I'm getting old or just feeling nostalgic. I just thought that I would write to say hi. I hope that you are keeping warm in spite of the cold weather ( except you roddy !)

In the spirit of the season, I just wanted to rekindle the warm feelings and memories that we all shared a while ago . I guess those times seems ages ago now, though I'm sure it feels like yesterday for all of us at some point or another.

Much have been said and done over the past few years. On my part,I just want to apologize for all that I have done or failed to do. Maybe some of you will think that I'm being excessive but I do think that it is important. There may still be some sore feelings here and there ...

I have missed each and every one of you. I do sometime wish that someday we can all 'hang out' once again. You never know ... Whichever the case, I really do want to keep trying to keep us together.

Anyhow, I do want to wish you all a merry christmas, my old friends. Have a blessed time knowing that someone is thinking of you here ...

KT

socks-creatures, sinful donuts and stuffed ookikuro.....

2010-12-18T18:00:00.004+08:00

mochabella freeze, tiramisu donut and that other coffee based donut... not the best decision made for breakfast choice...

Came home last night to a package received from Florence from Ipoh. She sent her 3 cute creatures, all handmade from socks and gloves, and they are sooo cuuuuuute!! And I think I heard them whisper to me, saying they'd rather stay with me than to be given away. Just kidding. I do hope some kids would really feel better after receiving them (o:3
Woke up early to be in IOI Mall before 10am this morning. Receiving toys from Anthony and Winnie. While waiting for them I was just loitering in front of Fitness First, but decided to have coffee at J.Co Coffee and Donuts, right in front of Fitness First. Probably the worst decision considering I'm still pretty upset about the 42.2% thingy.
Ookikuro is so stuffed with Hello Kitties and other stuffed toys right now. I'm going to need some help to transfer everything into the house if I want to make it in 1 trip.
Locum right after gym is probably not the best idea... but I don't think I could afford to skip gym today, considering the sinful breakfast I had in the morning.

toys, blog hits, the fuzz and pan bakery fraternity.....

2010-12-17T19:25:00.005+08:00

our nasi lemak at pan bakery was more monsterous than this

First batch of toys arrived this morning, yay! There should be some already at the Annexe Gallery, I should retrieve them before they clutter up Pang's place...
Sat down to chat with Angela this morning, a woman of strong will and a heart of gold. Inspired by her stories, and really, it's been a while since I had a good chat with someone. Reminds me of the good ol' days before Facebook, where chat means mouth-works rather than finger-works...
The blog visitors count hits 105 at the moment. Ah, the shameless unethical self-promotional post up of my blog address tagging along Operation Toy Story. I usually have 15 hits a day, no wonder Nuffnang stops banking in money! Hahaha, what ethics?!
Thinking about the reason behind doing all this charity stuffs. There was a time, years ago, when there was a group of kindred spirits doing every little that they can to feel the Fuzz. Usually the high came from a night of walking in the red-districts back lanes of metropolitan KL, re-humanizing the outcasts of society, bringing a pack of nasi lemak as a token of friendship to start conversations. More of than not, the street folks would be too busy shooting in the hi-way to talk to us, but consistency did the trick. Some became good friends. We felt the Fuzz.
I miss the Fuzz. I miss the time when we just sat down and talked deep and pretended we knew something about the quality of life. Well maybe we did know a little. Maybe just a little. I miss the time when we fixed our own monster size nasi lemak from Pan Bakery.
Thinking of next project to do already. Got to keep the Fuzz going. Keeps me sane. And humane, I think. Keeps me busy that's for sure. Keeps me wishing that the Pan Bakery fraternity would come back together one day for another project.
Just got another box of toy, brought in during locum. Among the stuffs in the loot-box, two football jerseys for an adolescent sized football fan. Original from UK!! Heard that they were intended as a gift for one kid that has leukemia, but passed on before he received them. I'm just so glad my life is fortified with stories like these... thanks Melvin ;o)

scouts and mules get wings...........

2010-12-17T00:08:00.012+08:00

OPERATION TOY STORY: THE ACTUAL MISSION :o)

These are the angels that have pledged to come along during the distribution day. Do tell me in the comment section, or post up on Facebook if your name isn't here and you're interested to join in the FUN ;o) This list will be updated frequently until the 23rd Dec 2010 ;o)

SCOUTS

Jey
Albert Law
Albert's dad
Alvin (Albert's brother)
Albert's friend from TV
Sky Ku
Hazel Chia
Hazel's Husband
Trista (Hazel's sister)
Richard Chin
Chloe Wang
Vicky (Chloe's friend)
Sulin Lau
Jasmine Tan
Sheon Lo
Comieko Luna
P (Arteo's friend)
Chenyi
Kelli
Rachel Loke
Siyan
June
Shuey Lim
Shuey Lim's friend
RongRong
RongRong's friend
Beely Tang
Ivan Lim
more more more (I think best to stop at 30)

MULES DESPERATELY NEEDED!!!

Dr. Smrdhi
Arteo
Anne Yong
Anne Yong's friend1
Anne Yong's friend2
SFX youths
more more more (hopefully can reach 10)

mission toy story......

2010-12-16T14:11:00.003+08:00

Collection of the toys are still going on. We will probably be able to gauge how many toys we get only after the 19th Dec.
Sorting of Toys would have to be done prior to the 24th. Cleaning and scrubbing (though we hope there would be minimal works on this) also would have to be done before the 24th. Final sorting would be done on the 24th itself.
Due to the procedures and regulations on visiting hours of the hospital, we would be limited to visiting during the evening visiting hours. So a new plan has been put up to deliver the toys to the kids at midnight as originally intended.
Two groups of secret agents would be recruited for the operation ;o) One group called Scouts and the internal group called Mules ;o) I know, for want of a better name! Do suggest ;o)
Scouts would go around the designated wards and identify the kids there using a location map that will be distributed later. Particulars on age, gender and suitability for types of toys would be noted.
After the visiting hour is over or when everybody's done collecting data, Scouts will gather at the "toys factory" and start matching kids to toys and wrapping the identified toys and labeling them with the corresponding bed numbers.
After that, the toys would be passed to another group of agents called the Mules (haha).. Mules are volunteering medical students and staffs who are either on-call or working on that particular night, and they will have the task of delivering the gifts as intended.
I know that this mission sounds like a secret-agent spy-game, but hey, we adults must not forget to have fun too, right?
I am going to put up a list of volunteering Scouts and Mules, so do tell me if you're available and interested ;o) Visiting Hours for Christmas Eve starts from 5pm to 8pm. The gifts have to be delivered after the 11pm doctor's round (so as not to disturb their work).
It would be nice to have a little gathering for makan or just hang for us volunteers and contributors after the mission. Any suggestions on place? Or shall we just crash someone's party? Haha..

Designated "Toy Factory" will be announced later. Since wrapping will be done after all, we'll need contributions of wrapping papers, sticky tapes and gift-tags. Please get neutral wrapping papers and neutral message gift-tags (religious sensitivity is something we all have to put up with, even when we're doing charity, a request from the hospital admin :o/ ) Thanks very very very much!!

coffee, emails and the bloody red tapes....

2010-12-16T13:40:00.001+08:00

civet cats eat coffee cherries and shit out good stuff...!

My third cup of coffee today. And while discussing the brew of the day at the counter, the barista asked me "Are you a coffee drinker?"... Shall I say "No, I eat coffee..." ;o!
Continuously receiving emails for inquiries and volunteering to join the Operation. Feel so happy that the response has been extremely encouraging, but still I need to cook up a plan to get the execution done within the normal evening visiting hours, meaning that I need to recruit at least a few internalists, the gifts-mule to carry them to the kids while they're asleep ;o/
As for now, I think there are about slightly less than 80 active respondents to pledge toys contributions and other ideas that they have -- baking, making chocolate cookies and all -- but the Red Tapes.. Arrgghh the Red Tapes!!
Okay. Just finished the round of email replying for the first quarter of the day... Need to seriously sit down and write down the modus operandi of toy distribution on Christmas eve.
More coffee perhaps... my House Blend feels a bit cold already...

when life gives you lemon, make lemonade.....

2010-12-15T20:47:00.003+08:00

Why is it that everybody's having meeting when I need to vent today?
Just came back from meeting with the authority of UMMC, in hoping to get permission to distribute gifts to the kids while they're asleep. Bad news. Sometimes it is better to not ask for permission and just do it. Now that I've gotten a red light from them to do it at night (along with so many other rules on no religious materials to be passed out, no praying over, no overtly playing/dressing up like Santa - this point I can't believe myself)...
Told them that I used to do it for many years as a medical student and all they can answer back was "Keadaan dah berubah"... I just had to refrain from rolling my eyes openly just now.
So I have to device a new plan. If we're only allowed to come during visiting hours, well, visiting hours it is! That way I can bring more volunteers in. Not all is lost ;o)
Lemonade anyone?

final bits of exam and operation toy story.......

2010-12-14T11:27:00.002+08:00

Currently on my semester break proper, while waiting for the result of the exams and registration of the next semester.
Exam for the last few papers weren't that fabulous. I got numb from disappointment on the OEH paper, so I guess I went in for HRA (Health Risk Assessment) with an ounce less expectation. Told myself I won't be an Occupational Health Physician anyway. But hey! I actually felt much relaxed, not so stressed about the exam and it was a pinch lighter on the nerves.
Law and Health was, as predicted, another kelentong paper. Again as usual, i spent too much time answering the Problem Solving Questions and the Essays I didn't have much time allocated for the Short Notes. At the end, my Short Notes were REALLY short. But good riddance, I was just happy to breathe again after the last paper.
Started to go to the gym again. ~~Had a swollen toe~~, ~~my foot was hurting~~, not wanting to shock the system for my first day of workout so I took it easy a little bit (sounds like an excuse no matter how I put it ;o/)
Had my body fat composition measured (just for the fun of it) again and the numbers really hit me pretty hard on the self esteem department and I was feeling pretty shitty about myself. So I decided to rescue some self respect while doing my locum last weekend, I started writing personal notes to people in my facebook friends list, appealing to those I know are in KL for used toys to be given out to kids who don't get to go back for Christmas in the hospital.
Few key friends responded and offered to re-post the plea in their website and open up a collection box at their workplace! Pang from Annexe Gallery and Poesy from Helping Angels helped to make the project viral... and within hours (yes, hours) of their involvement, I started having an incredible influx of emails asking for more information and volunteering to help. It's really a matter of not what you know, but who you know ;o)
Even Patrick Teoh, yeah I can't believe it at first too, Patrick Teoh of the broadcasting fame, re-posted the plea in his blog and tweeted about it! And so many people were directed from his blog to this project! Ahh.... this project has become bigger than it was intended when first conceived about 10 years ago!
I'm still having to reply up to 30 emails each day, and I'm just overwhelmed by the generosity of the people.
At least I am thinking less about the 42.2% that makes me unhappy in the first place ;o/
More updates on Project Operation Toy Story later ;o) ... ... ...

tag game on facebook........

2010-12-05T22:31:00.001+08:00

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the 3's of YOU. At the end, choose 26 people to be tagged. You have to tag me so really you just need 25 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but not in a creepy stalker kind of way. It's a good way to learn more about your friends without INTRUDING!!

To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, copy & paste everything you see in this note into the body of the note, edit your answers, tag 26 people - in the right hand corner of the app - then click publish.

Three names I go by:
1. Roddy
2. Boy
3. Arteo

Three Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Assistant Administrator in a tuition center in SS2 PJ
2. Floor staff of MPH, MidValley
3. Government servant (still till today)

Three Places I have lived:
1. Kota Kinabalu
2. Tungku, Lahad Datu
3. Beluran

Three Favorite drinks:
1. Coffee drinks
2. Iced Calamansi plum
3. Did I mention coffee drinks?

Three TV Shows that I watch:
1. Judging Amy
2. Gilmore Girls
3. Ed

Three places I have been: *most recent*
1. Low Yat Plaza
2. IOI Mall, Puchong
3. Salak South Garden hawker center

Three places I am looking forward to go:
1. Bali again
2. Japan perhaps
3. Taiwan sounds nice

People that I sms/sms me regularly:
1. Jeremy
2. Tony
3. UM MPH 2010/11 Group leaders

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Anything mushroom
2. Anything seaweed
3. KFC

Three friends I think will respond:
1. I
2. Don't
3. Know

Three things I am looking forward to:
1. The end of this First Semester Exam
2. To get into the Doctorate of Public Health programme
3. To drop 6 sizes

Three things that are always by your side:
1. Handphone
2. Wallet
3. Ventolin Evolaher

Three things I always look forward to during weekends:
1. Waking up late
2. Bumming
3. The next weekend

Three things I always do every morning:
1. Brush teeth + shower
2. Shite
3. Make coffee

chicken pox, recurrent bursitis and numb face.....

2010-12-04T18:35:00.002+08:00

Can't help but to compare what I am doing this time of the year now and what I was doing last year. This year's inactivity makes it look like I'm just conducting a crickets orchestra. I wish I have been more proactive in doing something to raise awareness on HIV issues, or at least run a charity drive to benefit a home or something.
Lately I always feel a little feverish after locum. Just last night I woke up in the middle of the night with chills and had to take pcm before going back to sleep. Immunity's not like when I was young anymore, nowadays I think I catch bugs from patients more easily. Suppose I should be consistent with my daily supplements of vitamins.
I am most worried when I have to see a patient with chicken pox. I've managed to dodge the infection for the past 31 years though. Nevertheless, I'd still do a proper disinfection and spray the table and chair with Dettol disinfecting aerosol spray every time after seeing such patients.
The weather's been cloudy and gloomy today and I think it's making me sleepy and a bit grey on the moods.
Or it could very well be the 3 tramadol and 2 mefenemic acid capsules I've been taking to kill the pain on my right foot. Damn recurrent bursitis. Now even my face is numb from all the meds.
Well, I guess this could be used as an excuse to make me feel better about not going gym for three days in a row. I hope tomorrow I'll be well enough to go though, got a little embarrassing situation happened while I was trying out jeans at Parkson earlier.
But I don't want to talk about that.....

from lil'formers.....

2010-12-03T22:03:00.000+08:00

exams, bullshites, chicken and chillex...........

2010-12-03T19:02:00.006+08:00

Starting to do locum again. Figured that even if I sit at home in hope that I would do some studying for the exam, I'm just gonna kid myself. Might as well do some good, helping the community to receive better medical treatment and health care (read: make money from sick people).
Monday paper was on Biostatistics. Of all the things that could happen, I actually forgot to bring along my calculator to the exam. Not that I don't have any, in fact I have 2 calculators - one normal basic type and another scientific type that I just brought over from KK (nostalgic one I used for my PMR and SPM, the precursor of all the canggih canggih type we see today, I think they stopped production of this model more than a decade ago). Luckily Tony was there to help me borrow one from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.
Tuesday paper was on the Principles of Epidemiology. Should be my forte, given the experience working in the field, but not too sure anymore. Can someone still be an Epidemiologist flunking statistics?
Wednesday was the paper I spent most days reading on (although number of days may not necessarily correspond to amount of revision done). Management in Health was a kelentong paper, and although I cannot say for sure I did well for the paper, but at least I attempted all questions and I think I managed to bullshite my way through most of the questions. Friggin' Maslow and Henzberg, I am so glad I spent one good locum evening reading all their bulls on human motivation, and able to bull some of them back during the exam.
Thursday paper on Occupational and Environmental Health was baaaaaad. NEVER in my life have I ever left any questions unattempted in any exams, and this day, the 2nd of December, 2010AD, I did just that. I am so never going to be an Occupational Health Doctor anymore. Or rather, Environmental Health Doctor. Whatever. I left a short note question that costs 10 points blank. The effect of climate change on health. I kept on thinking about pollution effect on health. How was I supposed to know how does climate change effect the health of people? Why not ask the weatherman to become the doctor? Maybe he knows!
Sigh. Actually that was given during the last lecture and I should attempt the question on the angle of weather related disasters leading to population displacement and its effect on health. Damn. Damn. Damn.
Slapping myself hard on Thursday after the exam, I went to buy half a chicken for lunch from Cold Storage Deli, and 2 packs of nasi lemak and fried chicken wings for dinner from the pasar malam. Just don't tell Shah I did that. I felt so sick after that, I had to take ENO repeatedly to help with digestion. Blaagghhh..... after all that BodyCombat and BodyJam and running on the treadmill, I hate myself.
Today's paper was on Principles of Family Health. I did not leave any questions blank this time, but for one of the 15 points short notes, I just had enough time to write 3 lines of answer, in hope that I get 3 points out of it.
I think my problem is that I do not know how to differenciate essays from short notes and problem solving questions, because the way I was writing, I think answered 8 essays instead of 4 short notes, 2 essays and 2 problem solvings questions. Well, 7 essays because one of it has only got 3 lines. Even for Management paper and the OEH paper, I feel that I have attempted all the questions in essay manner, writing longish craps and wasted so much time there.
But I write essays in my sms texts too, so.... oh well.
Five down, two more to go. Monday paper will be on Health Risks Assessment (yucky, now that I am so sure I cannot be an Occupational Health Physician anymore) and the last paper on Wednesday, Law and Health. Another kelentong paper, hopefully I am able to bull it through like how I did the Management exam.
Spirit is quite low after the shitty papers for the last 2 days, and now weekend, yay! Shall I go and chillex with some 40%vv type of spirit instead?
I hate people who uses the word chillex.

aeba, urti, pen warranty and lime sulphur for bodhi.....

2010-11-23T14:38:00.002+08:00

Didn't get much studying done yesterday and I'm blaming it on the actifed I've been taking to help me breathe. Got this second round of URTI with AEBA just before coming back to KL, which was irritating because I just recovered from one shortly prior going back to KK.
Restarted immediately on the acute rescue for asthma and loaded up on my daily fizzy vitamin C and batches after batches of the salty lime with Sheshe Cao cooling drink. Miraculously it actually works to shorten the cough duration. Plus of course I am already on my third bottle of Ubat Batuk Cap Kelapa Laut Afrika, which I consume in the fashion of chugging from a cheap whiskey bottle.
Came out of the house, away from the bed today, hoping that I could catch up on some reading in Starbucks. I know I could go through at least a chapter or two sitting here, but I should have also left this computer at home. Internet is distracting. What was I thinking?
Caught up over lunch with an old friend who happens to work in MidValley. The food at the food court is horribly expensive. Same goes for the taste, horrible.
Got my pen back from Faber Castell. The service provided by this brand is unbelievable! I got my expensive pen fixed for free, and the warranty goes on for life, and need not bring the purchase receipt for servicing. Then I brought in another pen which I bought probably in Ming Kiang or somewhere back in KK, a plastic cover that snapped and they got it replaced for me too, free of charge.
Just 3 weeks ago I accidentally dunked my (another favourite) ball-pen into the washing machine, and though the ink cartridge didn't survive the spin cycles, the body was still ok, except for some hardened ink part on the cover. I told them about it and they agreed to have a look at it and see if they can get it replaced for me for free. Faber Castell is so my favourite stationery brand!
Got myself a bright red gel-roller pen.
Went past this bonsai kiosk and was tempted to get one for myself. But bonsais are so bloody expensive (RM200++). So I got some lime sulphur solution (RM6/bottle) from the kiosk instead, to help with Bodhi's parasitic bug situation.
I think I should shut down the computer now and get some reading done.

missed flight........

2010-11-20T17:20:00.003+08:00

So it happens that I'm going back on Sunday after all...

the divine silence........

2010-11-19T16:39:00.000+08:00

I had the most liberated worship that night - no music, nobody else watching, nobody else listening, no reservation - it was just God and me - it was very poetic, really - I sensed Him whispering on the wind that blows on my face, I opened my hands and touched Him, and He comforted me. It was one of the most tangible experiences I had of God’s presence. He was there, I swear! (Cafe OAC, Friday, April 14th 2006)
Reading back my old entries in my old blog (the Friendster blog, back at the time when Friendster was still cool), I can't help but feeling like I'm reading someone else's writing. I could barely remember the last time I used such a language to talk about the relationship I had with God.
I think it is just best, and wisest, to say that I do not know what's happening. Some may want to call it the desert years, Fr. Green called it the dry well, St John of the Cross used the analogy of the Dark Night. To me, it is just that my God is being silent. Or that I am being oblivious to His signs, I don't know.
..........
Yeah, I don't know.

arteo and bkteo went to bintang walk......

2010-11-11T17:02:00.001+08:00

Intended to wake up early today to do a bit of house cleaning, but woke up late this morning. Indigestion made me feel bloated the whole night and woke up a couple of times to make myself some ENO. Slept a bit better only after the alarm clock rang at 8am. Finally decided to start the day at 9 something, made breakfast of chicken-ham sandwich we bought from JUSCO yesterday. Finished the second half of Toy Story 3 while having breakfast.
I watched Toy Story 3 four times already.
Went to Bukit Bintang for some shopping. Ben bought jeans for himself and some other surprise goodies for some people (o:3 hehehe... from UNIQLO. The hype is getting slower and before long I think the crickets can slowly move in already, just like any fad in Malaysia.
Lunch was at Yin's Herbal Soup, at LowYat Plaza. We both had mussel chicken soup meal with free honey tea. Having soup with herbs, white carrots and wolfberries always give the feeling of a wholesome meal. Set lunch comes with vege, chicken cooked with soy and the free drink.
Got some trays to organise the kitchen from DAISO.
Now back for a short siesta before heading out to Cheras for steamboat dinner at Cheras with Jeremy.

arteo watched toys story 3, three times.....

2010-11-10T15:16:00.003+08:00

Think I'm stepping into the fanatic zone, watched Toy Story 3 twice in the normal format and once with the producer and director running commentary on, all within the time span of less than a week! Freaky. Anyhow, here's some "easter eggs" or hidden trivia that can be found throughout the cartoon..

"A113," the number of a classroom at CalTech where many Pixar animators studied, shows up as an Easter egg in every Pixar film. In the "Toy Story" series, it's the license plate on Andy's mother's car.
Sid, the bully from the first movie who wears a skull T-shirt, appears as a garbage man in the new film wearing the same skull T-shirt.
There's a postcard on Andy's dresser addressed from the featured characters from last year's "Up," Carl and Ellie Fredrickson.
Lightning McQueen from "Cars" is referenced a few times throughout the film: A miniature toy car at the daycare center, on a child's shirt at the center and on a fictional train that shares McQueen's number, 95. That number is itself an Easter egg, referring to 1995, the year the first "Toy Story" was released.
A calendar from Pizza Planet is clearly seen. Pizza Planet has appeared in every Pixar film except "The Incredibles."
Pixar has a history of hiding a character to be featured in a later movie somewhere in a current film. Nemo first appeared in "Monsters, Inc." and "Toy Story 3" newcomer, Lots-o-Huggins Bear (who, ironically, is not very huggable), first appeared alongside a bed in "Up." A poster on Andy's wall shows a character from next year's "Cars 2." It shows Finn McMissile, a British sports car/secret agent who plays a major role in the sequel.
Buzz Lightyear's batteries are from "Buy 'N' Large," the giant corporation responsible for ruining the planet in "WALL-E."
Totoro, the furry, friendly creature from Hayao Miyazaki's Japanese animated classic "My Neighbor Totoro," shows up as a toy that Woody meets. Pixar founder John Lasseter has called Miyazaki an inspiration for his work, and Lasseter produced his most recent film, "Ponyo."
A significant amount of the film takes place at a daycare center. At the daycare center, Mr. Ray the Scientific Stingray from "Finding Nemo" makes a cameo. Nemo himself appears as a sticker on Andy's toybox.
"Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich performs one line in the movie, as the voice of the Jack in the Box character.
The "Toy Story 3" screenplay took 2 1/2 years to write and storyboard.
John Ratzenberger keeps his streak alive of appearing in every single Pixar film made to this point. For "Toy Story 3," he reprises his role as Hamm.
Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, was based on a 1988 version of him called "Animal Lovin' Ken" which included his "own chimpanzee to care for and love." Um, okay. The Barbie featured in the film is based on a 1983 version titled "Great Shape Barbie."
Ken wears 21 different outfits in the movie.
Woody has 229 animation points of movement in his face. Buzz has 215 animation avatars in his face.
There are 302 characters in the film.

medicines, fire, dinner and junkmails.....

2010-11-09T22:53:00.001+08:00

Finally give in to proper oral medications. Went out to the pharmacy earlier to get myself tablet salbutamol and oral prednisolone for my asthma and of course, ubat batuk cap Kelapa Laut Afrika for the cough. Still gulping down the salty pickled lime steeped in hot water, as mom did before. Got them from the Chinese Sinseh Pharmacy last night during dinner with Ben.
Talking about Chinese Sinseh Pharmacy, one just got burnt this morning. Heard the fire-engine siren while taking shower, and when we went back to OUG for breakfast, it was quite surprising to see the Sinseh we went to last night was on fire. Too bad we didn't buy from that shop because the service was a tad bad.
Sent Ben to KL Central after breakfast, then to the pharmacy and straight back home. Slept a good part of the noon off, hoping for the fever to subside. Still coughing though, and the type that makes you see stars at the end of the coughing bouts. No fun, no fun at all.
The nurses cooked ayam masak merah, fried fish and vegetables for dinner. Was forced (ok la, invited) to down a huge plate of rice!! Ohh the caloric punishment is just flashing in my eyes!!
4 more minutes before I can go off... better get things packed up first.
Cleaned my email just now, removed 4,087 read and unread mails from the inbox, took more than a few minutes to delete everything.

barney, hi5 and sesame street.....

2010-11-08T15:28:00.003+08:00

YihYi was asking for Barney and Hi5 CDs few days ago when I called back. Thought she was asking for a Barney toy. Got her the crayons, and will be on the lookout for Barney CDs but nope, no Hi5 or any craps like that from me. Actually I am against Barney myself, prefering Sesame Street instead (I grew up with it, remember the pie-man who always fall down the stairs with the number of pies according to the number of the day? Or the Choose the Odd One Out Game? Classic, man!)
But since YihYi belongs to this generation that adores the softy purple sissy tyrannosaurus, ugly yellow triceratops with suspicius looking green spots up her thigh and that other green dinosaur of unknown species) I'll give in and buy her that.
I think it's my duty to introduce the magic of Sesame Street to YihYi. Okay, Sesame Street CD for YihYi, coming up!

uniqlo, mickey mouse t-shirts and urti.....

2010-11-08T14:20:00.003+08:00

Finally stepped into the Genting Casino last weekend. I was never a lucky gambler, so I left Jey to do the gambling while I just watched. He won about RM400 from playing Baccarat thanks to me staying off his back, I think. The winnings got us a seafood meal at Port Klang on Sunday. Thanks Jey! Now I'm a big fan of salted yolk crab... yum, yum!!
Went to Bukit Bintang Fehrenheit 88 for the newly opened UNIQLO boutique yesterday. Arrived there at 1030 thinking that I could catch some breakfast there maybe before the crowd comes in, but to my horrible surprise the queue was already zigzagging outside the shop and continued into the main F88 building. so in the spirit of kiasuness, I joined in the crowd and queued at 1030, forgoing breakfast and finally got in at about 1115am.
The stempede inside was so crazy, people elbowing each other to get stuffs on the rack as if they're free. The best deal for their opening promotion was probably the jeans trousers, but most disappointingly their sizing only went up to waist 36 max. What, there are not obese people in Japan? Felt so sidelined!! Anyway I was determined to get something after lining up so much, I don't care if I only went back with some handkerchieves or something... Came out only at around 2pm.
UNIQLO doesn't sell handkerchieves. Damn. So I got myself 2 pairs of undershirts and a Tshirt with Mickey Mouse picture on it. Not the best fit even at size XL. Oh well...
Feeling a bit feverish when woke up this morning. Coughing since yesterday and I've depleted my stock of Kelapa Laut Afrika from the last episode of URTI. Trying hard not to cough on my patients' faces during consultation. I don't know if it's me or what, but Klinik Dr Azizah Puchong supposed to be quite free (according to the nurse) but within a few hours I've seen 21 patients, and dishing out sick leaves like a jolly soul in festive mode. Still considering if I should start myself on antibiotics...

answer for JerryInc.....

2010-11-03T13:10:00.001+08:00

locum /lo·cum/ (lo´kum) [L.] place.

locum te´nens , locum te´nent a practitioner who temporarily takes the place of another.

Noun

locum - someone (physician or clergyman) who substitutes temporarily for another member of the same profession

locum tenens

backup man, fill-in, reliever, stand-in, backup, substitute, relief - someone who takes the place of another (as when things get dangerous or difficult); "the star had a stand-in for dangerous scenes"; "we need extra employees for summer fill-ins"

patients stampeed and missed dinners.....

2010-10-30T22:02:00.001+08:00

Locum isn't so bad today. Think I had only about 10 - 15 patients so far. Last night was bad, with less than 60 patients for the whole day, more than 30 was served in the duration between 1730 and 2300hr. With the average of one patient every 10 minutes I wasn't even allowed a time for dinner, and when I finally got a breather, it was already 10pm!
October has been a crazy month with all the departments deciding to give our assessments and presentations simultaneously. After the Research Methodology paper last Wednesday, the exam climate seems to cool down a little bit, leaving only one assignment left, which is the journal article critique to be due on Thursday. As usual, me being me, I've not started anything on it yet. Instead I've decided to treat myself with a season of Chuck, 13 episodes of it in just 2 days. Started on the second season today.
Shah the personal trainer has been texting me to remind me about our paused training. Needed that break to focus a bit on the exams. With about 2 weeks break between now and the last session we had, I'll have my stamina down to the level of a potatobag on the treadmills. Sigh.
Went out with Ben last Thursday, didn't do the Japanese food @ JayaOne though, instead went to SS2 for pigging out session at the WSK and followed by dessert before calling it a day.
Deep in the mode of pondering about the future and the life decisions made at the present. I wish I'm out partaying in a Haloween Party like previous years, instead I'm stuck here doing locum. Next year Haloween I must join a dress up party, I don't care. I guess I'll be a terrorist again though.
Damn hungry now.

how to work better.........

2010-10-30T19:52:00.001+08:00

DO ONE THING AT A TIME
KNOW THE PROBLEM
LEARN TO LISTEN
LEARN TO ASK QUESTION
DISTINGUISH SENSE FROM NONSENSE
ACCEPT CHANGES AS INEVITABLE
ADMIT MISTAKES
SAY IT SIMPLE
BE CALM
SMILE

arteo rambling while waiting for exam time...

2010-10-27T13:26:00.000+08:00

Been on D for the past 2 days, took my 3rd and last from the previous stock today. Been prompted to restart by comments from people that I've seemed to pack on some flab lately. Valid reason for that observation -- I've frozen the last few sessions of gym training to cope with the exam stress this month. October wasn't a month to relax at all.
Ben has been around for the past month but he also seemed to be rather busy with his course schedule. At least then I don't feel that bad for not meeting up with him since the day he checked in at Shah Alam. Tonight we're going out to have that internet purchased offer meal at Jaya One we've been postponing for a while.
After being off D for almost half a year, the side effects of it seem to be felt stronger. Mood swings are more extreme and that snappy tendency is there all the time. Good thing today is the last of the never-seems-to-be-ending series of continuous assessments and presentations and reports for this semester. Next I can focus to make a come back to the gym and I won't be needing these anymore.
I miss working. It's totally different being a student. At this age, adjustment is kinda slow, even after half a year of doing post graduate degree.

taxation explained.....

2010-10-27T13:18:00.003+08:00

Got this from a circulating email. Like the analogy a lot, especially the caption right at the end of it.

UNDERSTANDING TAX

Suppose that every evening, 10 men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to RM 100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay RM 1.
The sixth would pay RM 3.
The seventh would pay RM 7.
The eighth would pay RM 12.
The ninth would pay RM 18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay RM 59.

So, that's what they decided to do....... The 10 men drank in the bar every evening and were quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner said, "Since you are all such good customers, I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by RM 20".

Drinks for the 10 men would now cost just RM 80. The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men, the paying customers - how could they divide the RM 20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? They realised that RM 20 divided by six is RM 3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

Therefore, the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing.
The sixth now paid RM 2 instead of R3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid RM 5 instead of RM 7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid RM 9 instead of RM 12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid RM 14 instead of RM 18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid RM 49 instead of RM 59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a rand out of the RM 20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, "but he got RM 10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a rand too. It's unfair - he got 10 times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get RM 10 back, when I got only RM 2? The wealthy always win!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists, labour unions and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

arteo's assignment on malaysia's progress on achieving the fifth millenium development goal...

2010-10-24T22:28:00.002+08:00

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is a set of eight targets that each of the 192 member states of the United Nation and some other international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. The goals are targeting essential developmental and socio-economic issues of the states, generally in health related areas, and are indicated by specific measurable indices. The areas of concern are to eradicate extreme poverties, to achieve universal primary education, to promote gender equality among women, to reduce child mortality rate, to improve maternal health, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases such as tuberculosis, to ensure environmental sustainability and to encourage global partnership for development.

The fifth element of the Millennium Development Goals spells out targets to achieve in improving maternal health. There are 2 targets attributed to this goal, the first being a reduction by three quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio; and to achieve, by 2015, a universal access to reproductive health. Under each of these goals, there are specific indicators to chart the progress towards achieving the goals.

Malaysia has seen a heightened national concern and has been involved in international effort to promote health in general, and particularly the maternal and child health throughout the post independence era. Even before the Safe Motherhood Initiative that was launched in the 1980s, this country has gone through impressive reduction of the reported maternal mortality ration, which was halved between 1957 and 1970, from around 280 to 141 per 100,000 live births. The figure continued to come down to under 20 per 100,000 live births, which is a level very close to that of mostly advanced countries.

According to the United Nation Development Programme report in 2004, Malaysia approached the reduction of the maternal mortality through six key elements. These includes improved access to, and quality of care of, maternal health services including family planning, and by expanding health care facilities in rural and urban areas. Malaysia has invested in upgrading the quality of essential obstetrics care in rural clinics and district hospitals, with focus on emergency obstetrics care services. Streamlining and improving of the efficiency of referral systems and feedback systems to prevent delays in service delivery. On the human resource angle, Malaysia has invested in training and increasing the professional skills of trained delivery attendants to manage pregnancy and delivery complications. A comprehensive monitoring system was implemented which focuses on periodic reviews of system investigation, including reporting of maternal deaths through confidential enquiry systems, and to work closely with communities to remove social and cultural constrains in improving acceptability of modern maternal health services.

It is doubtlessly challenging, and requiring tremendous amount of commitment, human and financial resources, and innovative programmes to further reduce the maternal mortality to a lower level, even to sustain the maternal mortality at the current low level. Continued monitoring of maternal deaths, improvement in access and quality of care is of utmost importance to further lower maternal mortality. The shift from direct to indirect cause of maternal mortality requires greater involvement of multidisciplinary professionals and sectors, including Non-Governmental Organisations and religious leaders to address more complex factors of maternal mortality.

Based on the evident and accounts of development gains over the last recent decades, Malaysia has kept itself on-track in achieving its ambition and goals. For this country to become a fully developed nation by 2020, this positive weather of growth needs to be carefully sustained and improved, including continuous human development, especially with emphasis on higher education and trained skills. Essential issues that need to be continuously addressed are such as poverty and inequality, education, gender issues, health improvement, sustained development, issues pertaining to foreign migrants, improvement of information systems and partnership with multisectorial agencies for development.

Economically, the vast majority of remaining poor households are Bumiputeras, and are mainly concentrated in the agricultural sectors especially in the least developed states. Addressing the ethnic group disparities in maternal mortality continues to be a challenge for the health policy makers. At the same time, the high maternal mortality rate among immigrant women, comprising 42 percent of maternal deaths in this country in the year 2000. Migrant women face a limited accessibility to maternal health services, especially those lacking of valid travel documentation. This limited accessibility problem will cascade to a bigger problem resulting from unwanted pregnancies such as complicated trial of abortion, and abandonment of newborns.

Over the past decades, there has been a shift in preference of delivery at home to institutional delivery centers such as the hospitals, the health clinics and the alternative birthing centers (popularly known as the ABC in rural setting). Therefore, there is a need to increase and establish more of these facilities to provide safe deliveries closer to communities and to prevent overcrowding of the maternity units in the hospitals. These facilities must be equipped with full range of antenatal and maternal services such as family planning, management of complicated pregnancies and counseling services, as well as staffed by skilled professionals and adequately equipped for basic essential obstetric care and provision for referrals.

With the advancement of the information technology era, we are seeing more and more well informed and educated clients, together with the rise in educational level of Malaysian women. The societies nowadays are better empowered to make their own decisions and informed choices regarding healthcare, delivery and family planning. There health service provider, therefore, has to be better prepared and equipped to meet the raised expectations of the clientele, and to be able to provide necessary information to facilitate autonomy in client’s decision making. Good use of information and communication technology will eventually lead to positive changes in health seeking behaviour and healthy lifestyles.

Even though maternal deaths have become rather relatively low in Malaysia, there is still a need to ensure the preservation of quality, accuracy and reconciliation of data obtained from the government registration system. As proposed by the UNDP Malaysia report, for analytical purpose, it would be helpful to have the adjusted and the unadjusted annual maternal death figures to be made readily available. Provision of regular and detailed reporting of contraceptives prevalence rate would provide a better comprehensive profile of maternal health.

is it november already??

2010-10-15T22:56:00.001+08:00

I've been reading on Maslow's theory and how it is linked to Sartre's philosophy on existentialism on the field of existentialist psychology during locum. Then I bought some medicine from the clinic which requires me to open an account. Seeing my age calculated a 31 years and 8 months, brings me straight away to my yearly blues -- occuring mostly in November -- the period when I ponder back on what legacy have I created, and what significance I have achieved in life. This is also the month when I ponder on the philosophy of existantialism... sigh...

arteo's homemade dinner.....

2010-09-17T22:51:00.002+08:00

How to make SALMON AND ALFALFA BREAD SUSHI

Ingredients needed: wholemeal bread, salmon spread with mayo (shown here - Ayam Brand), Alfalfa sprouts and nori sheets. Needed also is the sushi roller made from bamboo sticks, called the sushi maki sudare.

First, lay the nori sheet on the sudare, and a piece of bread on it.

Then the fillings. I'm also trying with seafood mayo, also by Ayam Brand.

Then roll the bread into a cylinder in the shape of a maki. Wet the loose end of the nori with water and dab it on so it holds the shape of the maki.

Voila!

Can be cut into bite sizes but the knife used must be sharp enough to cut through the wet nori, can be quite challenging!

Sedapnya...

take home lessons.........

2010-09-02T17:23:00.002+08:00

After a sleepless night and a appetite-less day, finally the crisis at hand comes to a slow plateu and a steep anticlimax. Anyway, there are repercussions from this event and the most important thing is that I learn from it.

At the end of the day, it is true about how it is impossible to please everybody especially when you are in the super-visible position of obligatory duties (willingly or unwillingly) so just be weary of the 20% that will make noise and stirrups.
Be extra careful of the 80% nonetheless. Slacking here can cause severe negative implications.
Be careful about saying something against another person, even to the person you trust. Misquoting is a rampant endemic in any relations. Go full blast when talking nice about somebody else, though.
In a conflict, be quick to admit wrongs and be soft about wrong accusations. Eventually you will be heard, so be patience.
Duties, works and projects are fleeting events in life. Preserve relations if it is worth keeping, that should be the priority.
Know who you true friends are. They may not be the ones talking the nicest to you.

feed a girl and you feed the whole nation.....

2010-08-13T20:17:00.002+08:00

An Essay On Gender-Selective Micro-financing And Women Empowerment
by Arteo

For ages, certain societies has seen unequal treatment towards women as compared to men in many important aspects such as bodily integrity and autonomy, in getting education, in having marital, parental and religious rights, and many more. Another aspect that has in the recent decade been brought to prominent attention is the gendered poverty. This phenomenon has a simple meaning, that men and women both experience and respond to poverty in different ways. The solution, however, is not all together simple.

Poverty is perpetuated by a complex set of factors. Other than gender differences, other factors that come into importance are ethnicity, income, health status, access to resources, politics and hierarchies. It Is proven, by addressing gender as key strategy in implementation of any developmental assistance programme produces sustainable mechanism for alleviating poverty.

The International Labour Organisation acknowledges a strong connection between vulnerability of impoverished women to underemployment and low-wages. And has proposed various strategies to combat this problem. Based on a study by Buvinic (1996) it is stated that the most straight forward vehicle to empower poor women is through economic empowerment, which means increasing their productivity in home and market production and to increase their income from work. One of the most popular and proven forms of economic empowerment for women is by providing microfinancing services.

The World Bank states that microfinancing enables poor women to become economic agents of change by increasing their income and productivity access to markets and information, and decision making power. Microfinancing is just a means of providing impoverished women with financial crediting, usually in small amounts, to enhance the productivity of their own small enterprises and other income-generating activities in which they invest. Income generating activities encompasses a wide range of activities such as small business promotion, cooperatives, job creation schemes, sewing circles and credit and savings groups.

Indeed the world is in no shortage of success examples proving that microfinancing to women results in elevation of their social status, independence, improved income and negotiating power. Women are also better able to exercise their rights to sexual and reproductive health.
Learning from a United Nations Development Programme sponsored microfinancing project in Chifeng, Mongolia, apart from the high loan repayment rate, it was found also that the participants were more confident in making decisions and using the loan funds, and were able to provide a clear and transparent fund and credit record-keepings during the audit. They have managed to reinvest earnings to expand and diversify beyond their initial enterprises. They also frequently talked about allocating their earnings to the education of their children, including the daughters.

Dr Alan Rosenfield (Dean, Columbia University School of Public Health) during the panel discussion on the Microcredit Summit Campaign hosted by UNFPA in 2006, noted that when women are better off, so are families and societies. Women empowerment is essential to economic growth, democracy, social justice and human rights.

Microfinancing aims to make small differences in small steps, in lives of women. By feeding opportunities to one woman at a time, she may not ever feed the whole nation as it were, but she will be able to tend to her family better, and give them a livelihood. That, more than anything, means the whole world to her.

My essay, as submitted today for Principles of Family Health module. Not easy okay, to start writing again after so many years!!

arteo's new fav song: the rainbow connection...

2010-08-07T10:40:00.000+08:00

Written by Paul Williams and used by Kermit the Frog, of The Muppets, Jim Henson Productions

THE RAINBOW CONNECTION

Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.

Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.

All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....

Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
La, la la, La, la la la, La Laa, la la, La, La la laaaaaaa

arteo still alive.....

2010-07-19T07:23:00.002+08:00

I've been in KL for almost a month now but still no post ups of whatever's been happening here. Got no valid excuse though, not that I've not been able to connect to the internet, not that nothing interesting has happened, not that I lost my fingers and can't type (palis-paaaaalis) so excuses schmexcuses, I'll spare you guys of it.
Just a quick post to ascertain that I am still alive and kicking, and enjoying very much of the course I am taking at the moment (gasp, my homework! at the thought of that...) and I will be updating pretty often soon, or at least I'll try to.
Till then ;o)

it's almost 2 am and i'm still wide awake......

2010-07-19T01:54:00.002+08:00

boom-de-ah-daa, boom-de-ah-daa...

2010-06-14T10:24:00.003+08:00

Usually sticky tunes are irritating but somehow this one is okay, featured by Discovery Channel as their theme song.

2008 version

Astronaut 1: It never gets old, huh?
Astronaut 2: Nope.
Astronaut 1: It kinda makes you want to...
Astronaut 2: Break into a song?
Astronaut 1: Yep!

I love the mountains,
I love the clear blue skies,
I love big bridges,
I love when great whites fly,
I love the whole world,
And all its sight and sound,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

I love the oceans,
I love real dirty things,
I love to go fast,
I love Egyptian Kings,
I love the whole world,
And all its sight and sound,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

I love tornadoes,
I love arachnids,
I love hot magma,
I love the giant squids,
I love the whole world,
It's such a brilliant place,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da..

2009 version

(Astronauts still singing refrain from last commercial)
Astronaut 1: Man, I cannot get that song out of my head.
Astronaut 2: Totally, I’m going again.
(Melody begins, astronauts begin to sing)
Astronaut 2: I love the mountains,
Astronaut 1: I love the sun so bright.
I love crustaceans
I love the stars at night
I love the whole world
So many things to see
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

I love to catch fish
I love the lemur eyes
I love the future
I love when humans fly
I love the whole world
No plave I'd rather be
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

Still dirty, still loving it
I love to blast off
I love adrenaline
I love the big bang
I love where air is thin
I love the whole world
And being part of it
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da

The Original Version

The song used in the ad is a re-writing of a traditional camping song known as I Love the Mountains or I Love the Flowers, sung to the tune of Hoagy Carmichael's 1938 "Heart & Soul", featuring a chorus of "boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da"

I like the flowers, I like the daffodils,
I like the mountains, I like the rolling hills,
I like the fire place, when the light is low,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da,
Boom de ah da, boom de ah da...

'a' is for arteo......

2010-06-11T03:41:00.001+08:00

1. What is your name : Arteo
2. A four Letter Word : Apes
3. A boy's Name : Andy
4. A girl's Name : Alexandria
5. An occupation : Art Director
6. A color : Amber
7. Something you'll wear : Anklet (not)
9. A food : Appam
10. Something found in the bathroom: Air freshner
11. A place : Ampang
12. A reason for being late : A-dog-ate-my-keys
13. Something you'd shout : Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!
14. A movie title : Ada apa Dengan Cinta?
15. Something you drink : Apple-juice
16. A musical group : Abba
17. An animal : Ambuk (monkey in Bruneian)
18. A street name : Alor (as in Jalan Alor)
19. A type of car : Audi
20. The title of a song : Angel's Lullaby

Rules:
It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag twenty people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real...nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

arteo gets a graphic reminder........

2010-05-26T01:01:00.003+08:00

Day5 on D and last weekend, I've started popping another pill to add to my daily handfuls - L-Carnitine 500mg, supposed to help with metabolism rate and slink me down closer to the meniscus of the population bell-curve. At RM118 per 60 capsules, it had better do something to my dwindling metabolism.
It's kinda hard to be the 2% of guys who joins cardiorobics sessions at the gym. By 2%, I mean I am the only one, in a room full of ladies, majority of them look so fit in their Lycras. All the jumping around makes me wobbly at the knees at the end of the sessions, but I guess I needed the discipline of a programme. So I suppose this is a good thing.
Broke my favourite Adidas trainers jumping around with my 2 tonnes body weight. Need a new pair of shoes -- do I hear retail therapy?
Still feeling terribly shy at the gym where all the state level athletes and the Misters Sabah practically nest on the pulley machines and the free weight racks. Probably I should gather up some balls and ask one of them to help train me, make the most out of the remaining 4 weeks I have here.
The most disappointing thing to see at the scale is how slow the numbers go down. Been trying to reduce food intake, but I cannot do that completely because I need the bloody energy at the gym.
Been living on soya milk and oats to replace most of my meals. Once a day, usually breakfast or brunch I'll load with noodle with salmon-bone soup. I know I will drop the pounds if I go NBM while on D, but I guess the body cannot be tricked for so long. It does find its way to save up in case of the next starvation mode.
Been rather down today, probably the side effect of D. Probably also because the weighing scale isn't showing what I want to see. Probably it was this picture of me from FB.
Saw this picture taken during one of the recent outings. Really sounded the alarm. I was thinking of easing my way out of doing crunches at the gym just now, but then I had flashbacks of this image, and I finished it. Damn it. Disgusting Blubbery Hosebeast!!

favourite quote from cider house rules.....

2010-05-21T12:48:00.002+08:00

The opening narration of the movie Cider House Rules, based on a novel of the same title by John Irving...

In other parts of the world, young men leave home and travel far and wide in search of a promising future. Their journeys are often fueled by dreams of triumphing over evil, finding a great love or the hopes of fortunes easily made. Here in St. Cloud's, not even the decision to get off the train is easily made, for it requires an earlier, more difficult decision - add a child to your life or leave one behind. The only reason people journey here is for the orphanage. I came as a physician to the abandoned children and unhappily pregnant women. I had hoped to become a hero. But in St. Cloud's, there was no such position. In the lonely, sordid world of lost children, there were no heroes to be found. And so I became the caretaker of many, father of none. Well, in a way, there was one. His name was Homer Wells...

somenghau... things i will miss #01... yih yi...

2010-05-20T12:56:00.005+08:00

Yih Yi during her first year. We all saw through her phases of rolling over, crawling commando, first baby step, first babbles and now she talks and talks and talks and talks, and ask why and what and who and where and how and what and what and what....... I felt bad one day when she kept on incessantly telling me something when I just woke up, I turned to her and said SHUT UP! She kept quiet for a while, I think not because I asked her to shut up, but it was a new word to her. Few seconds later, she started again..... Haha..

During her first birthday.....

Her maiden ride on Ookikuro.....

Posing for RedNose.....

Its's a sucky feeling to realise that when I come back, YihYi would already be all grown up and would have started Primary 1 by then... ah, what would I give to be around and see her grow up! Latest pic taken today.....

I'm so gonna spoil her with pampering before I go off, because when I come back, she's not gonna cium bunyi for me anymore... sigh.

arteo's vanity fair..........

2010-05-20T10:29:00.003+08:00

My new found obsession... things to slap onto my face.

The real question is: at this age of 31, would it be spelling out insanity to be prematurely obsessed about age rescue?

the myth of abortion being good for you.....

2010-05-20T09:59:00.001+08:00

as tagged by A.Ng on Facebook.

QUERETARO, Mexico, MAY 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- In the public debate about abortion, some still believe in the myths about its goodness for women, says a bioethicist.

In this interview with ZENIT, Doctor Rosario Laris, a surgeon and teacher of public health and bioethics, spoke about the beliefs that contribute to the perpetuation of abortion, and the risks that it implies for women and society.

ZENIT: In your opinion, what are the principal myths on abortion that still exist in the world and in Mexico?

Laris: I would say [the myths are]: that legalizing abortion reduces maternal mortality -- there is a very high number of women in Mexico who die as a result of having an abortion; that if legalized, abortion diminishes; and that abortion does not have any repercussion on the physical and psychological health of women.

ZENIT: Why would they say that abortion reduces maternal mortality?

Laris: That's what they say, but the reality is otherwise. At present 25% of maternal deaths in the world happens in India, a country that since 1972 has legalized abortion. Other examples are Russia and Ireland.

In the first country the proportion of maternal deaths is six times higher than in Ireland. Russia has legalized abortion and Ireland has not.

Now let's compare this country with the United States. There are in the United States 16 deaths of women for every 100,000 [mothers with babies] born alive; in Ireland there are only five.

But let's move to countries that are closer. Chile has a smaller proportion of maternal deaths than Cuba, where abortion is permitted.

With this we can establish that there is no direct connection between the percentage of maternal deaths and legalized abortion. What does reduce the number of maternal deaths is quality health services.

ZENIT: They say that many women die in Mexico due to the clandestine nature of abortion.

Laris: It is thought that in Mexico there is a very high number of women who die because of abortion.

The reality is different. Data of the National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics or of the Health Secretariat says that, in the whole country, the cases of death resulting from problems related to abortion are very low.

The mortality of pregnant women is due primarily to problems of hypertension, not of illegal abortions.

ZENIT: And what is your opinion about the theory that legalization decreases the cases of abortion?

Laris: That by legalizing it, it is not promoted? That is a lie.

We see the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain. In Spain, abortion was legalized 20 years ago and it has increased by 200%; today one out of six pregnancies in Spain ends in abortion.

Another case to highlight is Poland. For decades abortion was permitted there and the number was very high. When it was outlawed, [the number of abortions] decreased to at least one out of 100 of the total number of pregnancies.

That's why we must be clear: to legalize abortion is to promote it.

ZENIT: And the repercussions on women's health?

Laris: There is proof that women who abort increase their propensity to suffer depression, anxiety and ideas of suicide versus women who go through with the pregnancy in the same conditions.

A study was made in New Zealand where 630 patients were followed from their birth to 25 years of age. Some became pregnant and of those some aborted. Of the latter 50% showed the propensity to depression, as opposed to 25% of those who had not [had abortions].

There are several studies in different parts of the world and the results are the same: ideas of suicide and the consumption of drugs increase in women who have aborted.

The mistreatment of children also increases in women who have aborted.

ZENIT: What would be the ideal public policies to help a woman avoid having to resort to abortion?

Laris: There should be legislation that gives greater support to pregnant women, economic support by the state, care in quality health services, so that a woman would see a future for her child, as many times a mother is anguished on realizing that her child will not have a real future. Longer maternal leave is necessary for the better care of offspring.

However, the support must not only come from the government, but also from society.

ZENIT: There are those who approve of abortion of younger fetuses that lack neural connections. What is your opinion in this respect?

Laris: To consider this implies that a person with Alzheimer's stops being a person. One would have to ask the relatives of a patient with Alzheimer's if they do or do not consider him a person.

It has served, for families with this problem, to fortify their unity. The characteristics of a sickness do not take away from us the rank of persons, nor do physical damages. This was an argument used by the Nazis.

When we do not consider a child of less than 28 weeks or a patient with Alzheimer's as persons, we are discriminating.

21 excuses for skipping the gym.....

2010-05-20T02:01:00.004+08:00

...according to Men's Health.

We've heard all the excuses for skipping a workout (we've used a few ourselves.) So we made a list of them—the lame, the unavoidable, and the understandable. Then we called around to psychologists, dietitians, trainers, and men who work out no matter what to find out what they thought.

First, the legitimate excuses. We found four: You're sore, you're sick, you're exhausted, you're hurt. That's it. As for the rest of them, listen up. Our list of 21 easy ways to overcome any exercise excuse will help you build a rock-solid body without overhauling your life—so you can finally remove “lose belly flab” from your to-do list.

"Looks like rain."
Men's Health cover model Gregg Avedon lives in Florida. Do the names Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne mean anything to you? Avedon spent much of 2004 lifting storm shutters and storing away patio furniture, then taking cover. He still looks great. Avedon says your home gym—those dumbbells over there, and your chinup bar—makes staying in a viable option. You can also spice up your indoor cardio by jumping rope or running up and down stairs. Or tie both ends of a resistance band to a doorway, place a towel across your chest, face away from the door with the band (cushioned by the towel) across your chest, and run in place.
Frankly I've used this excuse quite a bit, and stay in bed when it does rain.

"I have no time."
Combine things you do anyway—work, breathe—with athletics. Set up business meetings during which you walk or jog; play tennis with your date; take a spin class to find dates; or take your family hiking, suggests Charles Stuart Platkin, M.P.H., author of The Automatic Diet.
Of course this is a grounded excuse. Not all our day jobs end right on time for gym!

"The Office comes on as I leave."
Get TiVo. Then tell yourself you're going to do just half of your regular routine. "It won't seem so insurmountable, and you'll end up doing the whole workout," says Edward Abramson, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in Lafayette, California.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I need my sleep."
Pat Croce manages to stick with his workouts, and this father of two has been busy hosting his syndicated TV show, Pat Croce: Moving In, and opening a pirate museum in Key West, Florida. "Like me, you have to schedule fitness," he says. On the first of each month, Croce reviews his schedule with his secretary and then his wife, and breaks it down into weeks. Every Sunday, he goes over the coming week, making sure there are gyms at hotels where he'll be staying.
Most of the time is - I overslept! Heh..

"Gyms are too expensive."
January's the month to negotiate fees, trial months, or group discounts. Think you don't have the cash? Save $900 a year by switching from cafe mocha to metabolism-boosting green tea when you stop at Starbucks every morning.
At RM4 per session, I guess this is not my excuse too... and I'll NEVER switch my mocha to green tea, you crazy old clown!!!

"My gym sucks."
So move. Changing gyms is an opportunity for you to upgrade your workout. See the next tip.

Oh yeah. Have any of you tried breathing in the gym that I go to? That's a workout in itself. I mean stinks, not sucks.

"I'm bored with my workout."
"Throw it in reverse," says Gunnar Peterson, C.S.C.S., author of G-Force. If you always do lat pulldowns with an overhand grip, switch to underhand. Do a reverse-grip bench press, reverse-grip curls, reverse-grip triceps pushdowns. Do front squats, rear lunges, and dumbbell lateral raises with your palms up. Count backward, too. "It's like a blastoff," says Peterson: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, done."
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I never see results."
Maybe you're not looking in the right places. Measure your waist, your heart rate, and your weight. Write them down. Then measure again after a week or two, says Croce. Celebrate even the smallest sign of progress. Muscles appear as fat melts.
Yep, still a fatty-bom-bom after all that gymming. Well, perhaps if I stick to it more comnsistently, sigh.

"Four weeks and no change!"
Whether you see results or not, you're strengthening your joints and connective tissues, which means you're laying down a foundation for future muscle growth, says Peterson. Your diet, stress, sleep patterns, and other factors besides your workout may be holding you back—so don't give up.

"I have no energy."
Eat. You need the fuel. "An active guy needs up to 1,000 calories more than an inactive guy," says Gay Riley, R.D.
Eat? Of course I eat!! And still...

"My body needs time to recover."
After 72 hours of rest, you're just sliding backward. "But are you actually giving yourself a chance to recover?" asks Peterson. It's not all about time. Mix L-glutamine into your postworkout shake and eat a diet full of omega-3 fatty acids; they can assist with cellular reconstruction and the removal of metabolic wastes to help you recover faster, Peterson says.

"I always get hurt."
This happens when you ratchet up your workout. Focus on losing 1 pound at a time or boosting your weights in 5-pound increments, says C.J. Murphy, M.F.S., owner of Total Performance Sports in Everett, Massachusetts. If you're used to doing 20 minutes on the treadmill, don't try a 2-hour road run. If you bench-press 50-pound dumbbells, don't go for 90. Instead, make small increases in the difficulty of your workout, focus on form, and work with a spotter so you still have a safety net, Murphy says.
Errmmm... why the emo?

"My elbows/shins/pinkie toes hurt."
"Pain is a sure sign something is awry with your exercise choices," says Murphy. This year, don't isolate body parts so much—your muscles should function as a team. If your shoulder hurts for a week after you do lateral raises, stop doing them. Find a variation that doesn't cause pain, he says.
In my case, my weak ankle act up every month or so...

"I don't want to look stupid."
Approach new machines with enthusiasm. "That's a good way to broaden your fitness spectrum," says Peterson. Read the placard, ask a trainer for assistance, and give it a shot. Nobody's looking. "They're so into themselves that they're not even thinking about you," Peterson says.
I don't want to look fat. Or be fat. Or looked at because I'm fat.

"I'm bored again."
Organize your workout differently for 1 to 2 weeks, says Peterson. Let's say you're usually a push-pull guy—you do chinups and leg curls one workout, bench presses and squats another. Try working antagonistic, or opposing, muscle groups, such as your back and chest. You can also change to an upper/lower split routine in which you alternate upper-body workouts with lower-body ones. Or try a total-body workout a few times a week.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"My buddy can't make it tonight."
It's easy to blame others. "If you're serious about training, think of it like a job," says Murphy. "If your training partner was an employee who continually was late and had poor performance, what would you do? You'd fire him!"
Going alone usually anyway...

"I hate working out alone."
Go to the gym at the same time and on the same days. Say hi to people. You'll find others who are on your schedule, says Abramson.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"I should help my wife with the baby."
Or you could help all three of you. More and more gyms have child-care centers so you and your wife can get away and spend time together—something that new parents need, says Abramson. Or go over the calendar with your wife: For every day she's out, you can schedule a workout.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"Everyone's going out for drinks."
Join them once a week "and you won't appear standoffish," Abramson says. But eat first. By having your drinks with a meal, you won't drink, snack, and eat dinner later.

"But The Office is on!"
"Create a commitment you can't get out of," says Platkin. Make an appointment with a trainer who will charge you whether you show or not.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

"My commute is long enough."
Go straight from work twice a week, then work out at home the other nights.
Not my excuse. Lame-O!!

the second best thing, i suppose....

2010-05-19T15:10:00.004+08:00

For the longest time, Ben and I have been talking about trying the grilled chicken menu, newly offered by KFC and was only available at some sentinel restaurants in Malaysia. None of them in KK.

Anyway, I've been looking forwards for opportunity to give it a try, and having missed the few chances during my past visits to KL, I finally managed to get myself to KFC Bukit Bintang, one of the few rumoured restaurants to try out the market.

...just to find out it was already discontinued for a few months. That day, a dream, a hope and a longing died. Taaaaaaaaapun tah saja.

Anyway, walking past McD one day, I noticed they have a new menu, I believe still not available in KK, the Gourmet Chicken Burger. Well, my ideal way of enjoying grilled chicken doesn't involve having it flattened and squashed between some buns, but beggars can't be choosers.

sakana... sakana.... sakanaaaa.....

2010-05-19T14:32:00.004+08:00

The haunting advertisement music at ALL the Jusco Sushi counter.... and extremely sticky too, you can go the whole day with sakana sakana sakana chorus in your mind, no kidding...
Sakana 肴 or shukō 酒肴 is a Japanese term referring to food eaten as an accompaniment to alcohol. Sakana may also be referred to as otsumami; this term usually applies to smaller dishes. Because fish, especially dried fish, was a popular choice for these dishes, over the years the term sakana also became the pronunciation for the kanji for fish 魚

(wikipedia)

In other words (Dusun to be exact) SAKANA = PUSAS

indian breakfast, curry fish head and a.ng's ordination date...

2010-05-19T14:16:00.001+08:00

Had breakfast at SriPaandi yesterday with Jey. I still think that they maintain the Gold-Standard of Indian Food (to my knowledge, not that I've tried a lot of Indian food around, but I know enough that I can't get anything like this in KK). Had roti kosong with chicken fee/neck curry, sweet appam and vade with tomato chutney. Yummy. Worth smelling like Indian food the whole day for this breakfast.
Went to UM Medical Postgraduate Office to enquire about my offer status. I was told that I got accepted, but I have to go print everything myself from the website. After much pleading (Bambi eyes, pouty lips, soft helpless lost-in-the-real-world Sabahan accent, and hopeful stars shooting out of my eyes a-la Shin Chan) the nice Kakak decided to do her Friday charity by printing out the materials for me. Woohoo. But I have to say, their service is pretty good (other than the go print this stuff yourself bit).
Reading the Offer Letter into Postgraduate studies evokes some mixed feeling in me. It's like facing another end of an era. Worked 7 years before getting this offer, it had better help me cruise through the programme. I hope.
Met up with Adrian and Anne after that for brunch, and for old time's sake, they brought me to our favourite place to have the best Indian food -- yes, SriPaandi, again. I didn't have the heart to tell them I had Paandi for breakfast, so I had my second dose of roti canai for the day, and double coating of Indian food aroma for good measure.
Followed Andrian and some of his youths to Chapel of Divine Mercy, Shah Alam. Attended mass again after a looooooooong missing in action stunt. Feast day of St Matthias, the one who was chosen to replace Judas. The whole mass I was sweating due to the double dosage of Indian spice despite being in a fully air-conditioned church.
Lunch with the youths and some parent. Had fish head curry dish. Guess I'm in for a whole day of sweaty head.
Jalan-jalan at Sunway Pyramid. It's been a while since the last time I was here melepak. Where did the Hartz Chicken Buffet go to? All the good memories, sigh...
Had a very good time catching up with A Ng. It's always a fuzz to the soul to hang out around him. I'm just jotting this down here so I won't forget: ORDINATION DATE 11 AUGUST, MALACCA. BE THERE OR BE SQUARE.

7 things to stop doing now on facebook........

2010-05-14T23:54:00.004+08:00

by Consumer Reports Magazine

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Using a Weak Password Avoid simple names or words you can find in a dictionary, even with numbers tacked on the end. Instead, mix upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. A password should have at least eight characters. One good technique is to insert numbers or symbols in the middle of a word, such as this variant on the word "houses": hO27usEs!
Leaving Your Full Birth Date in Your Profile It's an ideal target for identity thieves, who could use it to obtain more information about you and potentially gain access to your bank or credit card account. If you've already entered a birth date, go to your profile page and click on the Info tab, then on Edit Information. Under the Basic Information section, choose to show only the month and day or no birthday at all.
Overlooking Useful Privacy Controls For almost everything in your Facebook profile, you can limit access to only your friends, friends of friends, or yourself. Restrict access to photos, birth date, religious views, and family information, among other things. You can give only certain people or groups access to items such as photos, or block particular people from seeing them. Consider leaving out contact info, such as phone number and address, since you probably don't want anyone to have access to that information anyway.
Posting Your Child's Name in a Caption Don't use a child's name in photo tags or captions. If someone else does, delete it by clicking on Remove Tag. If your child isn't on Facebook and someone includes his or her name in a caption, ask that person to remove the name.
Mentioning That You'll Be Away From Home That's like putting a "no one's home" sign on your door. Wait until you get home to tell everyone how awesome your vacation was and be vague about the date of any trip.
Letting Search Engines Find You To help prevent strangers from accessing your page, go to the Search section of Facebook's privacy controls and select Only Friends for Facebook search results. Be sure the box for public search results isn't checked.
Permitting Youngsters to Use Facebook Unsupervised Facebook limits its members to ages 13 and over, but children younger than that do use it. If you have a young child or teenager on Facebook, the best way to provide oversight is to become one of their online friends. Use your e-mail address as the contact for their account so that you receive their notifications and monitor their activities. "What they think is nothing can actually be pretty serious," says Charles Pavelites, a supervisory special agent at the Internet Crime Complaint Center. For example, a child who posts the comment "Mom will be home soon, I need to do the dishes" every day at the same time is revealing too much about the parents' regular comings and goings.

back home for a hand scrub.....

2010-05-13T18:49:00.002+08:00

Starting to be occasionally on leave today. Don't think I can finish up my accumulated leaves before end of June, so I guess this is as good as it gets.
One of the things I hate most is travelling without my music. In this case, I have my music with me but no earphones! Spent the 2 1/2 hours in the airbus trying to sleep but no, it didn't work without 'em earphones.
How do I know I am a coffee freak? As I touched down, I was craving for some caffeine in my system. So I dashed out of the arrival hall, looked at Starbucks half a mile away, and Coffee Bean just next door. I thought I shouldn't compromise quality over convenience so I decided to hike. Just as I was approaching Starbucks' entrance I realised I have a checked-in luggage. So I had to back-track all the way to the arrival hall and retrieve my bag, then walked back to Starbucks. Total mileage, 2 miles, total caloric loss, 1500kcal. I ordered a venti to-go Caramel Macchiato on FCM, so calories gained 2500kcal*. Damn.
From KL Central, I went back home straight away. My 'home', as known by many.
Today, my cleanest body part would be the dorsum of my right hand. In search for some magical potion to hopefully make my past teenage-years sins miraculously disappear, I went around MJ and had the back of my hand (always the right hand) cleansed, toned, masked, scrubbed, rehydrated and all that done to it. All the while the over powdered cosmetic lady would ask me, how do I feel after each time she applied something different on my skin.
Other than the fact that the back of our hands have significantly less sensation receptors compared to the face, I could not for the life of me, tell her that item A might be better than item B or item C. Maybe if she had scrubbed my face and slapped on me those toners and moisturisers, maybe then I'd be able to tell her what I feel.
My past sin was making a hobby out of pinching every visible zits I had in those good old years. It felt good then, but what do I know about cause and effect of things permanent in life...
Anyway, I decided to settle on a product from BioTherm Homme that promises to reduce the old scars. It had better work, because this is one expensive thing I'm applying on my face.
Adrian is coming from Johore today. Anne is expecting to have her baby by this weekend. Sheena is oncall EOD.

doing siku-sikunya my way.........

2010-05-13T17:33:00.000+08:00

Came back from Kg Tangkarason, and for the first time in the longest time I felt completely spent after a day's work. The other time was during the H1N1 outbreak, which I thought kinda exciting!
Celebrated Secretary's Day last night at the clinic. Turn out was good, and almost everybody was sporting enough to spoil a song or two. Personally, I killed 4, I think. Other than My Way, of course, which I think was superb, heheh.
Woke up early this morning, thinking of departing early after a morning roll-call at the office. Unfortunately the plan clashed with a visit from KKM staffs to supervise our Filariasis Elimination Programme, and the briefing wasn't really brief, so our morning roll-call was cancelled and the departure time was set back to about 10am.
The drive to Tangkarason takes about 4 hours, and I am not quite a fan of long hours being stuck in the vehicle. If I would have my way, I would have popped a Tripo and snooze the whole journey but I had to give a talk and run a dialogue with the panicking villagers, so no Tripo for me, damn.
Spent an hour and half demystifying Chikungunya to the people, answering FAQs and some teaching on Dengue and Leptospirosis. Now I've got it all covered I guess they cannot say they didn't see it coming! Anyway, we're still waiting for the blood-test result from the central lab in KK. Hopefully it's not Chikungunya or else we're looking at heaps of paperworks to fill up!
The funniest part is getting them to pronounce Chikungunya correctly. After all that effort, I still get "sakit siku-sikunya" at the end. "Sakit apa?" "Sakit siku-sikunya" while pointing to the elbows. Sigh. Oh well, guess that's the things that makes my work interesting.