Home Comfort

In the last couple of years, I really had cut down on the number of overseas conference I attended. It was due to the combination of lack of sponsorship as well as fear of international travel which played a role.

But with webinar and webcast becoming commonplace, I didn’t really felt left behind or out of date. Last week, one of the Pharmaceutical Company had a talk in Penang and the talk was beamed across on the net live. In the comfort of my home, I was able to enjoy the talk.

Dr Leong asking the questions on the other end ...The only drawback would be there would be no free dinner afterwards and also there was no chance for networking. But that was a small matter. The webcast was clear through the internet - they used GoToMeeting for this one - all in HD.

We also had the chance to ask question or chat if we wanted but the talk was rather long in the end. I am all for this in the future ...

Preparing a Lecture

Back when I was with the University, there was rarely a week which I wasn't preparing for talks. Almost every other weekend would be spent attending conferences.

Those were the days when there were plenty of talks and conferences organises by the Pharmaceuticals. They were cutting down on the numbers now and conferences were few and far between.

I was invited to attend and participate in one in Johor Bharu this coming weekend. Unfortunately I could only come late and return early Sunday since I would be on call on Monday. So, back to preparing for the lecture. But luckily it was on a subject I was familiar with.

Evening Talk

After a long day at the office - with morning and afternoon clinics - I spent the evening listening to a talk in town. I listened to the speaker before and I knew the talk was going to be good.

And he delivered.

A great talk and a great company at dinner later. Shame that the turnout wasn't as good as planned.

Midnight Oil

It had been a while since I had to prepare lectures and my luck was in. I had two in the next week. One this weekend and another way next week.

Good thing was I had no on calls until after the talks and I have cancelled my Saturday clinic so that I could attend the sessions before my talk at the event.

So, still had to do their finishing touches on the talks and it looked like I would have to retire soon. I still have the clinic to run tomorrow morning. Hopefully that would be lighter and I don't have any admissions in the afternoon.

Overnight in Penang

After clinic on Saturday, I took a drive - a long one - up North to Penang. There is a conference session I plan to attend there on Sunday morning, hence a quick drive up, attend the sessions then drive back home the next afternoon after lunch. Luckily I cancelled my Monday clinic, so as to have some recovery time before beginning the week in full swing.

But the sessions were great. I had the chance to explore the hotel after breakfast, before the talks begin. The hotel was built in the 80s and it was obviously so. It reminded me of Equatorial Penang where I stayed when I was sending my Aunt off to Mecca last year. It was from the same era. The architecture was also almost similar. A central covered courtyard with the hotel rooms going up in a tubular structure. It was popular those days I was sure.

After the talks were done, I drove to Sungai Petani to visit my Aunt but she did not answer the door. I then drove back to KL, stopping at a couple of places for quick drinks and prayers.

A short and tiring trip, but worth it.