Checking in

Yes! Habibah’s wedding was this weekend and the troupe headed for Melaka. Since Friday was a long day for me, we only left KL at 7pm. It was raining heavily and the traffic was heavy before we enter the North-South Highway. We finally arrived at Bandar Melaka at around 10pm, got all our stuffs into the hotel room and settled in at around 10.30. Luckily, since the boys were asleep all the way down, they were in great mood. They were really excited as yo would expect. They checked out all the amenities … so to speak. We ordered room service and they got their supper, then ran around some more.

The main sitting areaInside the bedroomFirst order of business, room serviceI was really tired by midnight and slept on the couch. I can’t tell what time they hot the bed. We got ourself a suite right at the top floor. Cost us a bit but I think it was well worth it. He funny thing was, to get to our executive lounge and butler service, we had to go down to the third floor. We’ll look out for those the next morning I think. The boys have been making plans about what to visit while they are here. Most of the attractions were in Ayer Keroh, but that will a drive away. Might be an idea to explore the town for Saturday and go over to Ayer Keroh on the way home on Sunday. Will look into things after breakfast the next morning I think. I have a small matter of getting myself a new pair of shoes as I left mine in KL. I can’t attend the wedding in my Crocs since I will be one of the ushers, welcoming the Medics and Haematologist who shows up. It would be a good form I think …. Habibah’s family would have killed me on the spot.

Idlan stamping his markWhile all I was thinking about was .... zzzzzWill post the pics and the gossips later today!

Exam Day

I was stuck outside my own house in the rain again. This time, with Celcom signal deserting me. Stuck in the car and can't call out. I think there was something wrong with the transmitter. No signals! So twidling my thumb in the car while listening to some podcast.

I spent the day examining all day. Total of 6 hours examining can do your head in. Rather tired but I still have an order of business to attend. I have to get Habibah her wedding present. With the rain this heavy, I may have to ask Anita to do the buying tomorrow. I was expecting a huge clinic tomorrow and with Edmund and Habibah away, things were going to be tight. Straight after work, we will be leaving for Melaka. And the boys were really looking forward to that.

So it really is a toss up between going out or staying in. A man got to what a man got to do!

A Masterplan

It's always very tiring turning up at work after missing a couple of days. In my case, with the last couple of days away in Ipoh, I had plenty of catching up to do. None more so than the plan I was hatching with a Pharmaceutical company friend about a workshop in the next couple of months.

The plan initially came about a couple of years back with a former housemate from Sheffield. He was working with a Pharmaceutical company then, still is now, but only in a different division. We had this idea of teaching the specifics of antibiotics therapy to the Masters students or senior Medical Officer who will be Specialist in the coming few years. The first was held in Port Dickson in 2008. We were now planning the second instalment. The discussion just now concerns the venue and the content.

It was still in it's early draft and we were deciding on the suitable speakers. We had a few in mind. A few phone calls needed to be made. The timing will also soon be finalised but I can't see it happening before June.

Program such as this I feel is quite important as the alternative would be either flying the students abroad to conferences or flying in speakers from abroad to give a lecture or two. What we needed was more coaching and sharing of experiences rather than just a one-way lecture. In PD during the last workshop, we had a voting pad sustem installed so that questions can be answered anonymously. We Malaysian are always afraid to get things wrong even though we don't have clues what the answers were. That way, we can gauge undertanding in the crowd and address issues directly. I was hoping for more of these but once in a couple of years was a good start.

Some bad news

My God invigilating was boring. Today was my second day here and I spent last night in my hotel room watching a marathon of Fringe. I completed five episodes before feeling sleepy. Did not manage to edit any more chapters of my the Haem UMMC website. Was not in the mood I guess.

The exam this morning was over 3 hours. Then I have to do some paperwork before driving back to UMMC with some documents. Back at work tomorrow. I also recieved some bad news from Sarawak last night. One of my patient who unfortunately relapsed following stem cell transplant drew her last breath. She had a good Christmas and at the end decided against any further chemotherapy when she learned that her disease was back. I think it was a very good decision on her part. Some felt that that was a defeatist attitude but it was always better to fight battles you were likely to win. With that decision, she survived an extra 3 months, spent it with good quality of life doing all the things she always wanted and died surrounded by friends and family rather than tubes and needles. Rest in peace Dear!

Exploring Ipoh

Finally back at the Hotel. The car park was blocked because apparently there will be a party going on tonight. They were testing the soundstage just then with Lady Gaga's numbers. The entrance to the hall was covered with the spelling of 'GLAMOROUS' in glitters. I wonder what that was all about.

Managed to get my fix of reading and Starbucks just now at Ipoh Parade. Nothing much else was going on down there. There were mainly IT shops and bazaar selling clothes. Didn't know what else to expect really. Now it was time for shower. But what's next?

I brought with me a few CDs of Fringe. Might do a marathon of that later. Maybe another article for hematologiPPUM. I'll decide later.