Congratulations All Around

My view of the proceedings from today

Had the pleasure of attending the ceremony earlier. As usual I preferred to turn up after the ceremony starts. Perfect timing this time. Got inside just about the time Prof Ikram was about to start his speech. Grabbed the nearest seat to the exit, right in the middle, at the top of the stairs. Nestled in between the Faculty staffs, enough time to catch some gossips. If I come early, I might be asked to put on the pink gown!

Everything appeared to have run smoothly. No major hiccup, although they should have lined up the 'Cemerlang' recipient to up the stairs rather than having to wait for them to run down the hall to get up. Luckily there was no mishaps. Now! That would be unceremonious!

Oh before that, the oath! I am sure when Hippocrates was practicing, there is no such thing as promising to give just care to everybody regardless of their political affiliations and sexual orientation! I wonder whether it is a tambahan! We were then treated to some makan, while the graduates were having fun with a group photograph! During the tea, I went around to say my last goodbyes. The weather was getting dark outside, not really keen to get stuck.

Saw some of your families. The parents present were gracious enough to shake my hands. A father of one of a Perak student stopped when I was shaking his son's hand to congratulate asking whether I am graduating from UM or Ipoh. Now, that really made my day! The son then explained that I was one of his examiners from last week, and said that I was kind during the questioning.

Some of you were clearly saddened that their parents were unable to attend. One of you even told me that his parents are no longer around. That took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting that answer. Some of you sounded like planning to stay a bit longer in KL before going home.

Maybe the next time we meet, it will be during your Graduation Ceremony proper. Good luck and enjoy the next few weeks before your Housemanship starts. Sorry if my entry tonight is rather stop and start. I am actually listening to a Myeloma Debate online live from Vienna. Streamyx died tonight, maybe due to the by-elections tonight. Had to use my mobile as a tethered. Streaming was choppy, but at least I can read the slides still. Another distraction is my favourite ice-cream, Haagen-Dasz Coffee! *hint* if you plan to belanja me some ice-cream, the cheap one tak main! I can finish the tub in one sitting, especially when ManYoo is playing! Yummy!

Update on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 11:20PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

Hot off the press. Pakatan Rakyat secured the two hills while BN has to make do with a river!

The Journey Starts Today

Heard that some of you have finished packing your stuffs. I'm sure you can't wait to get away. Or maybe some of you were still tired, being woken up by the fogging at 7.30 this morning having only hit the bed at 5am. All of you are still manic from the experience, and the mania won't stop for another 2 weeks, well at least it took me that long to pass off mine.

I am on leave today, so had time to wake up with my two boys. Idlan is on leave for a week, so I got the Wii set up for him. We were playing Mario Kart just now, he and his Luigi, and me of course with Toad. Then I had the time to look into the blogs and Facebook. Struck me that there were not that many Lecturers turning up last night. The two I expected to come were Vivek and KS Lim (the real KS Lim, not the Chris KS Lim loh!). You guys should have call them and paksa them to come. I think the main difference between the UM and the Perak graduate was their clinical skills. I am sure it has a lot to do with the better access to patients during the weeks leading up to the exam. I am sure it was also due to the dedications of these group of lecturers staying back late to take you through some of these cases.

I took today's leave because I wanted to see you off during the mini-graduation. I did not plan to attend last night. In fact it was my Badminton night. Took real sacrifice to miss that! I will try to find where the graduation is later and say my goodbyes. You should ring the other lecturers who have helped you along to come as well. Call them. It is still not too late.

The Longest Wait

Toad all set for tonight's bash. Don't think he'll be wearing a tux.I don't envy the position the Final Year students are all in at this point in time. They are waiting anxiously for the results to be posted. I can tell everyone is desperate from the number of phone calls and SMS I have been getting through out the day. It should be up soon. The weather has also been appropriate, thunderstorm!

For the ones who passes, they will be attending the Graduant's Dinner tonight. For me, I am still cheesed off by the fact that Toad has more invitation than me. Not too mention that he asked me to drive him there! Such cheek! I am still recovering from the excitement of the winning goal 3 minutes into injury time, scored by a 17-year-old on his debut. My God he will be popular around Manchester tonight!

What's in the Name?

It has again been a long day. It may be a cause for a lot of anxiety for some, but a source of relief for others. Had another session examining short case earlier this afternoon. Saw some familiar faces. As I mentioned last night, I shall refrain from saying anything about the outcome of the exam until the results are out. 

Most of you will be traveling home for the weekend. I want to share with you a couple of stories. The first is concerning my brother-in-law's friend. He has just returned from overseas after completing his medical degree and waiting for his postings with Kementerian. One day, at a traffic light while he was on his motorcycle, a lorry came from behind and hit him. He died instantly. He never get to practice medicine.

The second is about my granduncle's son (my Dad's cousin). My granduncle was a great Paediatrician. When he left government service, he was the Deputy Director General of Health. He recently passed away in 2006 well in his eighties. Amongst his daughters and sons, none of them took up Medicine. None from his nieces and nephews followed suit as well. I was to be the first. In 1969, his brilliant youngest son was offered the Colombo scholarship to read Medicine in Canada. It was a great joy for him and the family. Unfortunately two weeks out, he died of an accident while in his father's car. His name was Fadzil.

I was the first grandchild, and was born a few years after Fadzil passed on. When deliberating what name to register me by, my granduncle wanted me to be named Fadzil. He says that one day I will become a Doctor like him. My father however was wary of the fate befallen Fadzil, an decided to name me slightly differently. My family calls me Fadzil, but most of you know me as Haris.

The morale is, drive carefully on your way back to your kampung. A lot of people are banking on you to be the pride of the family. It is one thing to disappoint people, but imagine if something were to happen to you just due to your recklessness. As the TV advert says .... 'Anda Mampu Mengubahnya!' Drive safely, and see you next Tuesday.

Update on Friday, April 3, 2009 at 11:03PM by Haris Abdul Rahman

I will be doing my fair share of driving as well tomorrow, going down to Malacca. The program there starts at 10, probably leaving right after breakfast at my mother's house. Coming back, I plan to drive via Port Dickson and Banting just for the fun of it ... Hmmm! Banting ... 

I will be taking Toad down for the journey as well. I got home late today, so Toad has gone to sleep with Idlan and Irfan.

The Lull in the Middle of the Storm

I remember the weekends in the middle of exams that I used to enjoy during my student times. It is a time when nobody and nothing can stop you from indulging. Everything you do can be justified as releasing the tension. You can stay up all night watching TV, go to cinema, eating out, retail therapy especially for the fairer sex, on the computer playing games for hours. When anybody ask you why you are wasting your time, you just shut them up by telling them how hard you studied, how difficult the paper was etc. Ahhh! Those days!

Even now as an academician, as their lecturer, there is a part of me that said, 'well some of them really messed up their paper, they should be concentrating on the clinicals', or remembering how rubbish they were when they were preparing for the exams, I can't help but to condone them. I have been through this exams before. At this late stage, a good feet-up will do wonders. Certainly stops you from asking how bad you did, what else I need to study. That will just cause you to tense up. The more tense you are, the worst you will tend to do. So for my Final MBBS boys and girls, take a good day's rest. Get your feet up. Have a nice coffee at Starbucks or Pak Abu. Watch a movie or three. During my time, I used to either play badminton or football.

Clear everything off your mind! .... and I shall see you next week for the clinicals ...... wearing my evil hat, smiling wryly .... before I ask you the five causes of bilateral facial nerve palsy! Ha! Ha! Ha! <insert evil laugh>