20 posts tagged “others”
I was sponsored for a weekend talk held in a luxury hotel :) There has been on and off debates whether this is an unethical practice. In fact there has been an explicit circular from the director which barred doctors from accepting any form of sponsorship.
Well, I accepted it anyway. So did many consultants and even heads of departments from hospitals all over Malaysia including participants from Korea, India, Japan, among the many Asian countries. In any case, there was a disclaimer stating that the sponsorship is "not conditional upon any obligation to use, recommend, promote or purchase the product or intended to influence you to do so", which I take it as face value. In any case, it is the only opportunity to listen to 2 prominent researchers, one from Italy and the other from a renowned institution in Texas. I don't think the government can or rather will sponsor them to come to Malaysia for our benefit. Sure, the company promotes their product but it is also for the benefit of our patients. Sad to say without the pharmaceutical industry support, we will probably be still living beneath our coconut husks.
The hotel was luxurious. But the best part was meeting up with friends and have a good chat.
It was great, but after 2 days I can't wait to get back to my spartan room. I suppose I'm comfortable with familiarity. I wasn't able to sleep well despite the luxurious bed and pillows. It just shows that money can't buy some things. There wasn't the familiar feel, familiar smell, familiar touch. And I didn't even use most of the things in the room.
However I managed to take a few snapshots of the surroundings with my camera ;)
Managed to get some shots of the kitten at the squash courts which has grown quite big now. Still skinny though but its spirit is free. Is cuteness a survival evolution? Hehehe...A friend bought some cat food for it to eat.
1) Hypermarts "in-house brands" are replacing "international brands" in their stores.
2) People removing items from their shopping carts at the cashier because they discovered they did not have enough money (prices went up).
3) People buy the cheapest cooking oils which is almost sold out and "luxury" cooking oils like sunflower, peanut and olive oil are left untouched.
4) The most popular items sold are instant noodles.
4) Places where parking is free starts to charge parking fee now.
5) Free food is the main agenda at government meetings.
6) There is political turmoil in the country.
7) When you're asked whether you want to retire at 56 or at 58 years.
8) When going dutch whenever friends gather together for the occasional "makan" is the norm.
9) When spare change are taken as well in the restaurants.
10) When the government insists that everything is OK
On one usual day at the squash courts, I was greeted by a small "Miao!". A small malnourished kitten appeared below the seats looking at me with its big eyes. I was never a fan of cats but this kitten seemed well, cute. It jumped up near my bag and curled itself. At first I was apprehensive in petting it on its head (read; toxoplasmosis), but finally my heart gave in. It was so cute and just wanted someone to show it some affection. I pinched its neck and lifted it up. From then on, every time I come to the squash courts, the kitten would just follow me.
It was malnourished but it has these wonderful big eyes. It was happy. It ran everywhere with curiosity, without fear. Under the chair, above the chair, into the courts, along the corridors etc. There was a plastic plate nearby with some dried rice, obviously someone has been feeding it.
I just wonder if it would be happier living well fed but living within 4 walls, or be free but eating crumbs.
Too bad I didn't bring my camera - will try to take some pics next time.
Have you ever in a really embarrassing moment when you wish you could disappear into thin air?
I was going into the photo shop recently and wanted to purchase a UV filter for my new lens.
I said in my broken Mandarin "I want a UV filter Hoya brand 67mm"
The lady found the filter for me. The list price was RM115
I asked " What's the best price you can give me?"
She answered "Pa she quai " (Eighty ringgit)
But what I heard was "Ee pai ee she quai" (Hundred and ten ringgit)
I blurted "Ker yee kei wo ee pai kuai ma? " (Can you give me for a hundred ringgit?)
There was a moment of speechlessness before she broke the deadlock saying in Mandarin " I offered you eighty and you want to pay a hundred?"
I turned lobster red I think. I quickly explained I heard wrongly, took out eighty ringgit ASAP, waited for eternity for her to write a receipt, grab the UV filter in my hand and sped off.
Aiya...next time better use Bahasa Malaysia and pretend to be a local.
When my friend came down to town, he stayed at a hotel far away from town. To get there, one has to drive along unlit roads, single lane, through no man's land with few vehicles if any....eeery. It was about 30 km from civilization. I went to pick up my friend to catch up on old times.
It was at dusk. I stopped many times to take pictures along the way of the magnificent sunset. Alas, it got dark. Road signs were scanty at best. We got lost. We mistakenly took another road to another hotel which was equally far away. I stooped at the guardhouse asking for directions to the other hotel. The young security guard, must be in his late teens or early 20s was extremely helpful. He got one of his friends (presumably a hotel employee too) on his motorbike and lead us to the correct hotel about 8km away!
In this time of inflation how may people will spare the time and $$ to help a total stranger? I didn't have any doubt with regards to his good intentions. Locals here (away from the hustle and bustle of city life) are extremely helpful. Many will go out of their way to help. In fact I feel much safer here than in KL.
If this were somewhere in KL, and if I were a girl, driving in a lonely unlit road 8km following an unknown motorcyclist into no man's land, would be foolish to say the least.
Thank you to the guard and his friend. You exemplify the almost extinct trait of mankind.
Still feeling the effects of jet lag. Woke up at 2 pm this afternoon which roughly translates to 7am in London (after taking account of daylight saving time of 1 hour since Malaysia is GMT +8, I think ). It's complicated to keep in touch with local time and then with the DST especially if I don't want to miss my flight home!
And according to Wikepedia, recovery takes about one day per time zone! Oh no!...I need to work on Monday! I initially gave myself 2 days to recover - might have underestimated the effects of jet lag. Apparently traveling eastward, being female of reproductive age and younger people suffer more of jet lag.
And that Viagra aided in 50% faster recovery from jet lag in hamsters, and considered a off label use hahahaha. I've not checked out the authenticity of the manufacturer's recommendation for this indication yet...So for horny old men out there, you've got an excuse why you're bringing your Viagra on your holiday flights though I doubt your wife/partner will buy this reason one bit hahahaha...
Packing for a long overdue backpacking trip :)
Again, what to pack? Just cut down half the clothes and double the cash hahaha...
London, Paris here I come. No blogs for the next 2 weeks.
Managed to get up close and personal with the Olympic Torch thanks to an ex-Malaysian Olympian. A bona fide torch which he ran with, during the Malaysian torch run. Each runner can keep their torch.
The torch is made of metal in the upper half and plastic in the bottom half. And there is a keyhole at the back which requires a key to 'activate' the torch before it can be lighted!
And my new lens is fantastic :)
With the fantastic weather today, I attempted to capture some shots of the green parrots at the beach again. Alas, they flew pretty high and beyond the range of my zoom (beyond 400mm on a 35mm format!). Anyway managed to get some shots with my new Canon 55-250mm IS lens :) There's something about sunset at the beach which is so calming and rejuvenating... ;)
