When I first graduated with my Optometry degree, there was a wave of optimism in my mind that I would be helping a lot of people with their eyes. However, this was stunted to a certain extent when I started working in UK with an optical chain outlet. It dawned on me that working as an Optometrist in a commercial setting is way different to working in a hospital setting. While you still more or less provide most of the optometric services that you have learnt in University, you are also obligated to work on the economics of the field and consider monetary needs of your employer. As a result, some sort of clinical cannibalism had to be done. An eye test that would normally take 30 - 40 minutes to complete had to be done in less then 15 minutes. I then learnt that I need to be more cohesive in my routine and be more picky on the routine that I should do and not do for the benefit of my patients and even if I do pick up an abnormality, I won't have the luxury of further diagnosis but to refer the patient on to the Hospital for further investigation. Working in the hospital however was absolutely more satisfying for the Optometrist in me, since you are exposed to more clinical practices (albeit at lower remuneration). I was thankful for that short stint that I had at the hospital as I managed to sample the experience of working in both a commercial and clinical setting in the UK.
With high hopes, I returned to Malaysia to start my private practice in Optometry. My first few month totally shattered me. I knew that by returning to Malaysia, I would have to take things slow as setting up a full optometric service opticians would cost a lot of money and would have to be done in phases. However, what I could not take was the total lacking of public awareness of what an Optometrist does. The general public had no idea what an Optometrist was and what we could offer to them as compared to the grandfather optician or qualified opticians in the field. Most treat an optical outlet like buying a pair of shoes, they only come in expecting a pair of glasses and nothing else. Even the big chains do not offer much primary eye care services but are totally retail orientated (even till now). Some of my patient didn't even know that there is a need to take up a degree course to become an Optometrist. While some even thought that you do not need a qualification to test eyes.
For the first few years of practice I had been scolded many times by my patients when I informed them of probable eye disease that they may have. The reaction that was given to me was always the same that is I am not a doctor and have no right telling them they have any eye condition and that they only wanted me to provide them with a pair of glasses and nothing else. Of course on every case I bit the bullet and insisted that further examination should be done before any glasses could be dispensed. Most times I would be reprimanded severely and with the patient walking out of my practice in fume.
8 years on, I persevered, adding more diagnostic equipment along the way. I would say that I am a machine or two away from my ideal optometric setting. Of course, the perception of the general public towards Optometrist are starting to catch up as well. One of the major challenges that I constantly face is a psychological war that I have with myself, one part of me tells me it is economically not sound to invest in diagnostic machinery that you could hardly charge since the public are still much ignorant about what we can do and of course the only way to convince them would be to give them full service at nominal or no charge, the optometrist side of me tells me to push for it since its what an optometrist should do. Of course the optometrist side of me wins at most times but of course the economics side of me dictates the pace of upgrading.
Did I regret coming back to Malaysia to practice? No, because I believe that what i do here means more to the patients that I see now (even if they may not realise it) then back in UK in which the patients already expect such services in the first place.
Although full Optometric facilities in a private practice setting is hardly to be seen in abundance in Malaysia, I am hopeful that one day it would be THE norm.
I for one is almost getting there....
Showing posts with label Daily Journal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daily Journal. Show all posts
Friday, June 22, 2012
Monday, August 22, 2011
Fakes at Pavilion?
While having our mid morning coffee, my sister in law was relating to me a story that her sister told her not too long ago.
Apparently, one of her sisters patient is convinced that The Pavilion, famed with Prada's, Gucci's and many more exclusive designer brands are also selling fakes at premium prices.
The story started when the husband bought an LV bag for this lady.
One day the lady went to Paris for a holiday. And with Paris, one would not escape the chance of browsing at the famed Louis Vuitton outlet at Champ Élysées. As she entered the outlet, to her horror, one of the LV staff cut her LV bag strap with a scissors. Of course the lady threw out a fit seeing the lovely LV that was given to her by her loving hubby vandalized. However, the staff in the outlet was firm and told her that the LV bag that she was carrying was a fake. Of course she brought up the fact that the bag was indeed purchased at a genuine LV outlet in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the sales representative cared no word of hers and insisted that it was a fake. And this is not even coming from the branch manager in Paris but from the front desk sales representative. She was then later advices to go back to the LV outlet in Malaysia to seek an explanation if indeed it was bought there.
Of course all this while I would believe that the lady would have really felt small and humiliated as none of the working staff truly believed that she bought the bag from a legitimate LV outlet.
Hence, the moment she came back to Malaysia, the lady stormed into LV, at Pavilion and asked for an explanation. Lo and behold, the branch outlet instantly identified the product as a fake and simply gave an explanation that the fake could be due to an inside job. She was then asked to pick any bag in the outlet as compensation. (wait a minute here, you mean the manager can identify the bag so easily? If that's the case then what guarantee that any of the LV in the outlets are original in the first place?).
We did not dwell on the nitty gritty details that happened after that as we progressed through our conversation that morning.
If I were the lady, I would write a letter to the management of the company, cc them to the domestic trade and consume department, the consumer tribunal, the consumer association and any other related department that I can think off. Hell, I think I may even want to cc it to the prime ministers department!
If it is indeed true that even Pavilion outlets are selling fakes then non of us consumers are safe.
Good thing I buy most of my day to day needs at Jusco...........
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Apparently, one of her sisters patient is convinced that The Pavilion, famed with Prada's, Gucci's and many more exclusive designer brands are also selling fakes at premium prices.
The story started when the husband bought an LV bag for this lady.
One day the lady went to Paris for a holiday. And with Paris, one would not escape the chance of browsing at the famed Louis Vuitton outlet at Champ Élysées. As she entered the outlet, to her horror, one of the LV staff cut her LV bag strap with a scissors. Of course the lady threw out a fit seeing the lovely LV that was given to her by her loving hubby vandalized. However, the staff in the outlet was firm and told her that the LV bag that she was carrying was a fake. Of course she brought up the fact that the bag was indeed purchased at a genuine LV outlet in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the sales representative cared no word of hers and insisted that it was a fake. And this is not even coming from the branch manager in Paris but from the front desk sales representative. She was then later advices to go back to the LV outlet in Malaysia to seek an explanation if indeed it was bought there.
Of course all this while I would believe that the lady would have really felt small and humiliated as none of the working staff truly believed that she bought the bag from a legitimate LV outlet.
Hence, the moment she came back to Malaysia, the lady stormed into LV, at Pavilion and asked for an explanation. Lo and behold, the branch outlet instantly identified the product as a fake and simply gave an explanation that the fake could be due to an inside job. She was then asked to pick any bag in the outlet as compensation. (wait a minute here, you mean the manager can identify the bag so easily? If that's the case then what guarantee that any of the LV in the outlets are original in the first place?).
We did not dwell on the nitty gritty details that happened after that as we progressed through our conversation that morning.
If I were the lady, I would write a letter to the management of the company, cc them to the domestic trade and consume department, the consumer tribunal, the consumer association and any other related department that I can think off. Hell, I think I may even want to cc it to the prime ministers department!
If it is indeed true that even Pavilion outlets are selling fakes then non of us consumers are safe.
Good thing I buy most of my day to day needs at Jusco...........
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Aquisitions
I have taken tons of picture from the Free Health Screening that we did in conjunction with the World Kidney Day, however I have yet to have time to edit them and post them here.
The project was a huge success. We manage to screen 500 people which was more then our target of 350.
Anyways, I just bought a new wireless router for home. I've been wanting to get one for a while cause my sis needs to use it at home every time she comes over to visit. Before this, I had to bring my Zycel Wireless Modem from work home and back again which was a real hassle.
So after splashing RM190, this was what I bought
This is Linksys Wireless-G WRT54GC.
The installation was hassle free with a real user friendly configuration wizard to help you out with the initial set up. One thing I've learnt about buying gadgets it to stick to a trustworthy brand. You can be rest assured that setting them up would be more or less trouble free. I've had installation nightmares when it comes to cheap taiwan/china brands and would strongly suggest you avoid it.
Last Sunday, I was at Low Yat and I got this...
A shiny new 1 Terabyte External Hard Drive from Maxtor.
No more burning DVD's just because I got no more space on my Hard Drive
Well... at least for now :)
The project was a huge success. We manage to screen 500 people which was more then our target of 350.
Anyways, I just bought a new wireless router for home. I've been wanting to get one for a while cause my sis needs to use it at home every time she comes over to visit. Before this, I had to bring my Zycel Wireless Modem from work home and back again which was a real hassle.
So after splashing RM190, this was what I bought
This is Linksys Wireless-G WRT54GC.
The installation was hassle free with a real user friendly configuration wizard to help you out with the initial set up. One thing I've learnt about buying gadgets it to stick to a trustworthy brand. You can be rest assured that setting them up would be more or less trouble free. I've had installation nightmares when it comes to cheap taiwan/china brands and would strongly suggest you avoid it.
Last Sunday, I was at Low Yat and I got this...
A shiny new 1 Terabyte External Hard Drive from Maxtor.No more burning DVD's just because I got no more space on my Hard Drive
Well... at least for now :)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Paranoia
Here I am sitting in the office somewhat with a sense of uncertainty of some sorts.
Business is slow thus far for a typical Monday.
I was at the banks today, even the town seem rather empty with not as much traffic as its suppose to be.
A lot have been said that come February (After CNY), we shall see the impact of the current economic crisis hitting end users as more retrenchments are on the way. This would surely hit most of us, some bigger then others.
Fresh out from a real good 2008, I ponder how 2009 will perform. Deep inside, I will be thrilled if I can match last years figures but I doubt it and that's my dilemma. I get worked up when things do not hit my expectations. So far I have managed to achieved all that I have wanted to achieve and each target have always been higher then the last. Now however, I am looking at the prospect of downgrading targets and I am uncomfortable with that. With such unfavourable economic climate, its inevitable that figures would drop.
However, things have not yet turn southwards but as February creeps in, I got this uneasy feeling that things will change.
Maybe I am just being a bit too uptight and paranoia is getting the better of me..........
Business is slow thus far for a typical Monday.
I was at the banks today, even the town seem rather empty with not as much traffic as its suppose to be.
A lot have been said that come February (After CNY), we shall see the impact of the current economic crisis hitting end users as more retrenchments are on the way. This would surely hit most of us, some bigger then others.
Fresh out from a real good 2008, I ponder how 2009 will perform. Deep inside, I will be thrilled if I can match last years figures but I doubt it and that's my dilemma. I get worked up when things do not hit my expectations. So far I have managed to achieved all that I have wanted to achieve and each target have always been higher then the last. Now however, I am looking at the prospect of downgrading targets and I am uncomfortable with that. With such unfavourable economic climate, its inevitable that figures would drop.
However, things have not yet turn southwards but as February creeps in, I got this uneasy feeling that things will change.
Maybe I am just being a bit too uptight and paranoia is getting the better of me..........
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Deterioration
I was talking to my ex-primary school teacher today.
She was lamenting about the state of my school in which total enrollment is an at all time low of roughly 300 students.
I was shocked initially since we had over 2k students when i left back in 1989.
How could the school loose over 70% of its student base in a mere 20 years? Totally astounding.
Probably I should go visit my ex-school one fine day to find out.
She was lamenting about the state of my school in which total enrollment is an at all time low of roughly 300 students.
I was shocked initially since we had over 2k students when i left back in 1989.
How could the school loose over 70% of its student base in a mere 20 years? Totally astounding.
Probably I should go visit my ex-school one fine day to find out.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Daily Journal
Dad's 70th ended with a bang. Really happy with it.
The family support was outrageously great. I am really blessed.
On a side note, was really pissed with one of my supplier. Its like me buying clothes from this shop regularly and now they doing another offer on shoes but in order to buy the shoes at a discounted rate, I will have to sacrifice the discount that I already enjoy from the clothes that I have been buying from them since donkeys years for that particular month.
They can go bugger off.
Shall play hardball if need to.
The family support was outrageously great. I am really blessed.
On a side note, was really pissed with one of my supplier. Its like me buying clothes from this shop regularly and now they doing another offer on shoes but in order to buy the shoes at a discounted rate, I will have to sacrifice the discount that I already enjoy from the clothes that I have been buying from them since donkeys years for that particular month.
They can go bugger off.
Shall play hardball if need to.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Daily Journal
Can't believe that its already December, time seems to be flying away.
So many things yet to be done and so little time to do it.
My company calender is finally done and I got it picked up today.
Pretty happy with the new layout.
Its just a regular "horse" calender with the regular 12 page of the year kind.
Got them late this year, hopefully I can distribute all 700 of them by this month.
This month gonna be a very busy one for me.
Apart from work, I will be organizing my dad's 70th birthday bash.
Already booked the restaurant, now to sort out the guest list.
Going to Penang this weekend for a wedding.
I'll also be attending the GT2 launch by Carl Zeiss on the 10th at Sunway Resort.
Then its heading off back to Ipoh for my clubs installation on the 11th.
Then come the birthday bash on the 21st.
Another wedding to attend on the 28th at Cititel Mid Valey (not sure if i wanna go yet)
Busy Busy
So many things yet to be done and so little time to do it.
My company calender is finally done and I got it picked up today.
Pretty happy with the new layout.
Its just a regular "horse" calender with the regular 12 page of the year kind.
Got them late this year, hopefully I can distribute all 700 of them by this month.
This month gonna be a very busy one for me.
Apart from work, I will be organizing my dad's 70th birthday bash.
Already booked the restaurant, now to sort out the guest list.
Going to Penang this weekend for a wedding.
I'll also be attending the GT2 launch by Carl Zeiss on the 10th at Sunway Resort.
Then its heading off back to Ipoh for my clubs installation on the 11th.
Then come the birthday bash on the 21st.
Another wedding to attend on the 28th at Cititel Mid Valey (not sure if i wanna go yet)
Busy Busy
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
A Brief Moment of Calm
We had a blackout a week back at home which lasted about 30 mins. Been having quite frequent blackouts recently. TNB not doing their job.
Anyways, here I was sitting in my room with a single candle being my light source, I find myself sucked into a sudden calm. Somehow I felt a moment of peace for no apparent reason. I was told by a friend a long while that looking into a lighted candle may sometimes bring relief to the soul. I may have just experience that for the first time.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Hmm.........
Business this month have been up to my expectation so far. However today mark the first day since I came back to Malaysia in which we registered our worst one day sales. However, I am still up as regard to the figures for the rest of the month. Still very much optimistic that this month will be a good one with some expected patients pre-booked.
On a non-relating issue, I've somewhat got an uneasy weird kind of feeling about one of my staff. All her mobile ringtones, sms alerts and call alerts now come with animal sound. To top it off, she seems to be changing them pretty often as I have been hearing a lot of different voices of the animal kingdom. I wonder if her desperation in getting a husband recently has anything to do with it.
I've got an urge to spend money again. Get that kind of feeling from time to time but this one seem to linger a bit longer. Maybe I should finally get a laptop that I've think of getting but know I won't be using much of.
On a non-relating issue, I've somewhat got an uneasy weird kind of feeling about one of my staff. All her mobile ringtones, sms alerts and call alerts now come with animal sound. To top it off, she seems to be changing them pretty often as I have been hearing a lot of different voices of the animal kingdom. I wonder if her desperation in getting a husband recently has anything to do with it.
I've got an urge to spend money again. Get that kind of feeling from time to time but this one seem to linger a bit longer. Maybe I should finally get a laptop that I've think of getting but know I won't be using much of.
Monday, October 13, 2008
A Near Miss
Just came back from a weekend trip from KL.
Bloody tired as always.
However, it could have been worse. I was fortunate enough to escape a major car pile up accident on the way back.
It was raining pretty heavily the whole journey so I decided to drive at a much slower pace then my usual cruising speed.
The bus in front of me slowed down suddenly and I followed suite.
A few seconds later I realized there was a major accident up ahead and the bus stopped to avoid hitting the already damaged car up ahead. Then I heard some major emergency brake action behind me and cars honking frantically. At that point, I had virtually stopped my car leaving about half a car length between the bus and me. I was prepared for the possibility of my car being knocked from behind as I held my steering wheel tightly (just in case I need to do some last minute maneuvering). Fortunately the car behind didn't hit me but frantic honking continued behind me.
A minute or so, the bus managed to maneuver his vehicle past the damaged car in front of him and i followed suit. As I drove through, I saw what may be 10 damaged vehicles (3 turned turtle). I looked my side mirror and realized that no car followed behind me. I wondered if another pile up proceeded behind me.
Anyways, glad to be home.
Bloody tired as always.
However, it could have been worse. I was fortunate enough to escape a major car pile up accident on the way back.
It was raining pretty heavily the whole journey so I decided to drive at a much slower pace then my usual cruising speed.
The bus in front of me slowed down suddenly and I followed suite.
A few seconds later I realized there was a major accident up ahead and the bus stopped to avoid hitting the already damaged car up ahead. Then I heard some major emergency brake action behind me and cars honking frantically. At that point, I had virtually stopped my car leaving about half a car length between the bus and me. I was prepared for the possibility of my car being knocked from behind as I held my steering wheel tightly (just in case I need to do some last minute maneuvering). Fortunately the car behind didn't hit me but frantic honking continued behind me.
A minute or so, the bus managed to maneuver his vehicle past the damaged car in front of him and i followed suit. As I drove through, I saw what may be 10 damaged vehicles (3 turned turtle). I looked my side mirror and realized that no car followed behind me. I wondered if another pile up proceeded behind me.
Anyways, glad to be home.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
My Raya Day
As per usual, I was working on Hari Raya Day albeit just for half a day. I am more or less used to the fact that I work while everyone is having their public holidays although at times I do wish that I could hang out with friends a bit later before heading home the night before.
Anyways, decided to bring mom for a bit of shopping since both mom and dad would be going to China soon. She's been wanting to buy a pair of Nike shoes for her trip for a while. My sis as per usual (whenever she is back) accompanied us.
Maybe this time I would be able to use the RM250 cash voucher that I have accumulated this year.
First stop was my usual shop at Yik Foong. There's where I get all my pirated DVD and Blue Ray Movie's from. Woah... today I was really in luck. I bought a total of 17 DVD's! Normally I would only be able to get 10 DVD's at best. But then again its been over a month since I've visited this place. I got this obsession of collecting all blockbuster movies that I can get my hands on. Although I haven't watched over half of the DVD's I have bought so far, I know I would one day. Of course the DVD's I got are all not cinema quality lah. I normally wait till the clear DVD version is out before getting them.
After that we headed to Kinta City. To sum it up, it was not a very eventful day since i didn't manage to get mum any shoes except for some convection pots during one of the many detours that we had.
Oh yeah... let me finish this post with some interesting convo's that I had today.
A : We're going to the toilet. You want to come?
Me : I'll just wait outside.
A : Why don't you want to go to the toilet?
Me : Eh.... why should I go to the toilet just because your going to the toilet.... no urge lah!!
B : The other day there was a 18 car pile up around this corner of the highway. Nasty stuff.
A : Woah... the cars pile up on top of one another?
Me : Can you tell me how 18 cars can pile up on top of one another????!!!
A : (laughs)
Me : ................................... ^_______________________________^
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Something Amiss
For the past month, I've been having problems with my left ear. The feeling is as if your driving up hill and you have some sort of pressure on your ears.
Went to my family doctor to have it checked out but he thinks its probably something one off and would go away after sometime.
However a month is a bit too long don't you think? There is no pain or anything so I guess it is something harmless.
Maybe I should go see an ENT soon when I have the time.
Went to my family doctor to have it checked out but he thinks its probably something one off and would go away after sometime.
However a month is a bit too long don't you think? There is no pain or anything so I guess it is something harmless.
Maybe I should go see an ENT soon when I have the time.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Daily Journal
I realized that I've not blogged about places I visited for a while. The reason being that I've not really been going out to places that is worth noting. My new camera seem to be collecting dust when I took it out yesterday night.
Anyways, hopefully I can start some photo blogging again as I shall be going to Teluk Intan this weekend. Was invited to attend a Rotary Installation dinner on Saturday night and we decided to stay over and spend more time sight seeing. The last time I've been to Teluk Intan was during my secondary school years.
MAY be going KL in a fortnight to attend an exhibition at Sunway. Still not decided on this one yet.
Sidenote : I've been reading about a lot of problems and self conflicting dilemma in a few of the blogs I browse through recently. I on the other hand is having a lot of positive vibes in life at the moment. So much so that there is a feeling that its becoming a little scary. Something is still missing but I don't know what.
Anyways, hopefully I can start some photo blogging again as I shall be going to Teluk Intan this weekend. Was invited to attend a Rotary Installation dinner on Saturday night and we decided to stay over and spend more time sight seeing. The last time I've been to Teluk Intan was during my secondary school years.
MAY be going KL in a fortnight to attend an exhibition at Sunway. Still not decided on this one yet.
Sidenote : I've been reading about a lot of problems and self conflicting dilemma in a few of the blogs I browse through recently. I on the other hand is having a lot of positive vibes in life at the moment. So much so that there is a feeling that its becoming a little scary. Something is still missing but I don't know what.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
My thoughts on work.
I am actually an extremely lazy person by nature. When I tell people about this, many would laugh and not take me too seriously since they do see me as a workaholic at most times (I tend to take a hands-on approach on most of my work). The only reason why some people don't see this "lazy" nature of mine is the self motivation that I give myself to mask this endemic problem. I am a person that needs to be pushed when doing things so knowing that, I set targets. In whatever work that I do, I put forth a mental image of targets that needs to be achieved by a certain deadline. That creates a "rush" that keeps me on my toes most of the time.
Recently though, the "rush" seems somewhat diminished. A lot of the objectives I've set for the year is more or less ahead of schedule and I can now see myself slowing down. Although there is a big assignment coming up in the coming month, I've more or less completed all the paperwork for it. I now wonder if I should fast track some of the plans that I have for 2009 sooner rather then later.
The other day while chatting with a friend, I was told off saying that I try to do too many things on my own at work even though there are people there that could do it for me. He don't seem to agree on my hands-on approach to work.
I brushed him off with a laugh.
I know where he is coming from actually. One need to know how to delegate work in order to be successful. Nevertheless I believe in the saying, "the jack of all trades and the master of all". Experience have taught me to not depend solely on others. This way, no one can take you for a ride and it also tells your subordinates that they are not indispensable. That keeps the workforce on their toes and do actually promote productivity.
If your at the top then make sure you know everything there is in every department under your wing;- that's the way i deal with work.
Recently though, the "rush" seems somewhat diminished. A lot of the objectives I've set for the year is more or less ahead of schedule and I can now see myself slowing down. Although there is a big assignment coming up in the coming month, I've more or less completed all the paperwork for it. I now wonder if I should fast track some of the plans that I have for 2009 sooner rather then later.
The other day while chatting with a friend, I was told off saying that I try to do too many things on my own at work even though there are people there that could do it for me. He don't seem to agree on my hands-on approach to work.
I brushed him off with a laugh.
I know where he is coming from actually. One need to know how to delegate work in order to be successful. Nevertheless I believe in the saying, "the jack of all trades and the master of all". Experience have taught me to not depend solely on others. This way, no one can take you for a ride and it also tells your subordinates that they are not indispensable. That keeps the workforce on their toes and do actually promote productivity.
If your at the top then make sure you know everything there is in every department under your wing;- that's the way i deal with work.
Friday, July 11, 2008
My current thoughts on a rainy friday morning
Woke up late today.
I hate it when it rains throughout the morning on a working day. Its bloody hard to drag yourself out of bed and tell yourself you got work to go to. Nevertheless I got reminded of how fortunate I am that I don't need to wake up 5.30am in the morning to catch the 6.30 train for work (which I did one point in my life).
Traveling for work can be a killer, especially if you need to use public transport. A friend of mine was telling me the other day that she catches the early bus to the LRT station and then take the LRT to work. The whole "ordeal" cost her from an hour and a half to two hours (one way) time. I don't think I would be able to live with that on a daily basis.
On another subject matter.
I have got the urge to watch a movie for the past 2 weeks. Any movie would do actually. Its really sad to say that the last time I've been to the cinema was Shrek 3 . Most friends I know don't put cinema as "my top 10 wishlist", so i normally get rejected outright when I ask someone to go out movies with me (but they never say no when I ask them out for food... *grumble*)
A friend was telling me this, "the time I had movies on a weekly basis was during my "pak tor" (dating) days".
*thinks*
Yup, More or less hit the bulls eye there.
Bah.... i still got the urge to hit the cinema!
I hate it when it rains throughout the morning on a working day. Its bloody hard to drag yourself out of bed and tell yourself you got work to go to. Nevertheless I got reminded of how fortunate I am that I don't need to wake up 5.30am in the morning to catch the 6.30 train for work (which I did one point in my life).
Traveling for work can be a killer, especially if you need to use public transport. A friend of mine was telling me the other day that she catches the early bus to the LRT station and then take the LRT to work. The whole "ordeal" cost her from an hour and a half to two hours (one way) time. I don't think I would be able to live with that on a daily basis.
On another subject matter.
I have got the urge to watch a movie for the past 2 weeks. Any movie would do actually. Its really sad to say that the last time I've been to the cinema was Shrek 3 . Most friends I know don't put cinema as "my top 10 wishlist", so i normally get rejected outright when I ask someone to go out movies with me (but they never say no when I ask them out for food... *grumble*)
A friend was telling me this, "the time I had movies on a weekly basis was during my "pak tor" (dating) days".
*thinks*
Yup, More or less hit the bulls eye there.
Bah.... i still got the urge to hit the cinema!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
A day in my life
I was virtually working flat out today.
No breakfast & lunch only happened around 4pm.
After work was no different.
My elder sister which is doing her Montessori course this year asked me for some help on her assignment.
Ended up spending a few hours looking up material from the net and also made up a lame children's poem.
Since I got nothing better to blog, let me torture all of you with my super corny poem that I made for her. The theme was "taste buds"
Bitter, Sour, Salty, Sweet
That’s all part of the taste as we eat
Salt is Salty, Medicine is bitter
Vinegar is Sour and Grape may be sweet
Learning all this is such a treat
Now lets all find out more as we go out and eat.
*shrugs*
No breakfast & lunch only happened around 4pm.
After work was no different.
My elder sister which is doing her Montessori course this year asked me for some help on her assignment.
Ended up spending a few hours looking up material from the net and also made up a lame children's poem.
Since I got nothing better to blog, let me torture all of you with my super corny poem that I made for her. The theme was "taste buds"
Bitter, Sour, Salty, Sweet
That’s all part of the taste as we eat
Salt is Salty, Medicine is bitter
Vinegar is Sour and Grape may be sweet
Learning all this is such a treat
Now lets all find out more as we go out and eat.
*shrugs*
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Daily Journal
2 big project was handed to me today
Collected my medical report today. It seems that my over indulgence for good food have got the better of me this time. My family doctor have suggested that I go on a diet and do more exercises as my cholesterol level has gone up. Its not serious but its best to keep it in check. I guess I shall be starting my dieting sooner rather then later.
My club president gave me a 2 month deadline to finish up a project that was suppose to be due next year! Now I got to scramble and get all my contacts ready in such short notice. The things we have to do in the name of charity.... gah!
On the brighter side, I got a call today telling me my accommodation for my next short vacation have been sorted out. I even got a fat discount since a friend knows someone that's working at the hotel. I can finally book the tickets through AirAsia tomorrow. Woot!
An eventful day indeed.
Collected my medical report today. It seems that my over indulgence for good food have got the better of me this time. My family doctor have suggested that I go on a diet and do more exercises as my cholesterol level has gone up. Its not serious but its best to keep it in check. I guess I shall be starting my dieting sooner rather then later.
My club president gave me a 2 month deadline to finish up a project that was suppose to be due next year! Now I got to scramble and get all my contacts ready in such short notice. The things we have to do in the name of charity.... gah!
On the brighter side, I got a call today telling me my accommodation for my next short vacation have been sorted out. I even got a fat discount since a friend knows someone that's working at the hotel. I can finally book the tickets through AirAsia tomorrow. Woot!
An eventful day indeed.
Monday, June 2, 2008
A Car That I Won't Want To Call My Own
Went to have my Malaysia-Thailand border pass done today.
Whats a border pass you might ask?
Its a travel document that one can apply to enter Thailand for multiple journeys and is valid for 6 month. However you must be a Malaysian resident that residing in the state of Perak, Perlis, Kelantan or Kedah for more then 3 years.
While I was driving back, I spotted this.......
I was like... huh? Whats those stuff stuck on to the back of the Pajero??
So I tried to overtake the car for a closer look......
The back of this car is virtually infested with mini-figurines!!!
You see Mickey Mouse at the top? WTFreak??!! Whats the owner thinking of here. Imagine you taking your girlfriend on a date with this car. I would rather walk!!
This is where the number plate is suppose to be but instead we got figurines ranging from hello kitty to ultraman stuck on it.
God save me if I got a car like that......
Whats a border pass you might ask?
Its a travel document that one can apply to enter Thailand for multiple journeys and is valid for 6 month. However you must be a Malaysian resident that residing in the state of Perak, Perlis, Kelantan or Kedah for more then 3 years.
While I was driving back, I spotted this.......
I was like... huh? Whats those stuff stuck on to the back of the Pajero??So I tried to overtake the car for a closer look......
The back of this car is virtually infested with mini-figurines!!!
You see Mickey Mouse at the top? WTFreak??!! Whats the owner thinking of here. Imagine you taking your girlfriend on a date with this car. I would rather walk!!
This is where the number plate is suppose to be but instead we got figurines ranging from hello kitty to ultraman stuck on it.God save me if I got a car like that......
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Hat Yai Here I Come!
Initially I was really a bit pissed about this trip. This was because a friend was given the task to arrange this trip a few weeks back but due to some rubbish circumstances, I was then handed the task 2 days ago. The only piece of information that was given to me was a website with some hotel accommodation details. I was pretty unhappy as the trip was due for the 7th of June which was Agong's Birthday. Its way too little time to plan for a trip from scratch i thought. Nevertheless the others was really eager to go so I took on the task of organizing it at the end.
Lee Garden Plaza Hotel
Anyways, I am glad to say that after 2 days of frantic planning with cost of calls to Thailand probably on par with my one night accommodation at Hat Yai, I manage to pull through. The local travel agents did not entertain me as I was told there is no rooms available (I needed 8 rooms all together). I then scoured through the Internet and manage to find one that gave me a bit of hope. After calling them a couple of times, I finally manage to get rooms at the Lee Garden Plaza Hotel Hat Yai. The rate was fantastic as well, I was only charged 1260 baht per room including breakfast (not bad for a 3 star hotel during peak season I thought).
I also manage to charter a 26 seater bus for our trip up. This comes to about RM223 per person for the whole trip.
So, tentatively, we shall be traveling to Hat Yai Friday early morning (around 12-1am) just in time for a very early breakfast at Hat Yai and returning on Sunday night.
Its been a long time since I took a break. Looking forward to it.
P.S Some people asked me which site I used to get my bookings. I booked mine through http://www.hotelthailand.com/
Lee Garden Plaza HotelAnyways, I am glad to say that after 2 days of frantic planning with cost of calls to Thailand probably on par with my one night accommodation at Hat Yai, I manage to pull through. The local travel agents did not entertain me as I was told there is no rooms available (I needed 8 rooms all together). I then scoured through the Internet and manage to find one that gave me a bit of hope. After calling them a couple of times, I finally manage to get rooms at the Lee Garden Plaza Hotel Hat Yai. The rate was fantastic as well, I was only charged 1260 baht per room including breakfast (not bad for a 3 star hotel during peak season I thought).
I also manage to charter a 26 seater bus for our trip up. This comes to about RM223 per person for the whole trip.
So, tentatively, we shall be traveling to Hat Yai Friday early morning (around 12-1am) just in time for a very early breakfast at Hat Yai and returning on Sunday night.
Its been a long time since I took a break. Looking forward to it.
P.S Some people asked me which site I used to get my bookings. I booked mine through http://www.hotelthailand.com/
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I Don't Have Friends, They Are All DEAD!!
Been preparing my PowerPoint presentation on Preventable Blindness today. The roughly 30-40 minutes talk will be held this Wednesday night. My eyes feel like popping out after editing lots of graphics and presentation notes. Anyway its like 90% done. Going to leave the rest for tomorrow. I am more or less zapped.
On a side note. I had an interesting conversation with a patient of mine who is a big time businessman in town.
Me : So Mr X, your business been pretty successful now ya. You got x branches now.
Mr X : I am fortunate. Nowadays I can pretty much relax and let the business run by itself.
Me : That's really good. So what do you normally do during your free time?
Mr X : Not much to be honest. I don't have much friends
Me : Huh? Why not?
Mr X : Most of my friends are either dead or in jail. Besides if I did have my old friends coming to see me its best not to see them. They are normally trouble.
Me : OIC (I quickly changed to a different subject after that)
Now I am beginning to wonder where he got all the wealth from.
On a side note. I had an interesting conversation with a patient of mine who is a big time businessman in town.
Me : So Mr X, your business been pretty successful now ya. You got x branches now.
Mr X : I am fortunate. Nowadays I can pretty much relax and let the business run by itself.
Me : That's really good. So what do you normally do during your free time?
Mr X : Not much to be honest. I don't have much friends
Me : Huh? Why not?
Mr X : Most of my friends are either dead or in jail. Besides if I did have my old friends coming to see me its best not to see them. They are normally trouble.
Me : OIC (I quickly changed to a different subject after that)
Now I am beginning to wonder where he got all the wealth from.
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