Happy New Year 2009

Happy New Year...

My resolutions for next year? Hmmmm..... I've got a few...

But first, let's look back in 2008. This year has been a good year for me, i've been able to travel around, made a few trips back to JayBee, shopping a lot! and i do mean a lot!! bought a new car, a honda stream, started to save some money in Public Mutual, and etc....

So, here goes. My resolutions for next year is..

1. To lose more weight...i've been neglecting my workout for the past 2 months or so.

2. To collect more Transformers Generation 1 toys...

3. To collect more Graphic Novels.

4. To help more people.

5. To start and design my dream home.

That's my top 5 resolutions. Hopefully i can achieve these goals.

To All....

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!

From Aiman's view

This is a mug coaster set given to me by a sales rep of a drug company. Haven't been using it much since i got it. but now i decided to use it since we bought a new dining table. The coaster set consists of 6 coaster in 3 colors, red, white and green.

Aiman later played with it and suddenly he showed me what the coasters can also become.

VOILA!!! A COASTER FOR PLATES....

I guess kids have different views and have more lateral thinking than adults. Maybe we should encourage them to think more outside the box rather than the usual norm. Mmmm, i wonder what else can it turn into?

nasi lemak kukus.... episode 1

I had a problem today.......

What is my problem? i don't know what to eat for dinner. That had been the case since for ages, especially when my wife is not around the house.

Then i remembered a shop outside of baling that sell nasi lemak kukus. i had wanted to try and have a bite there. so after i came back from work and after maghrib i brought all the 3 kids and went our way there.

The shop is about 20 minutes from baling. luckily the weather is kind to us tonight as it wasn't raining tonight. But, lady luck wasn't as nice. I almost missed the shop as the road that we were on were poor lighted. but then i realised that i missed the shop because the shop is close tonight and the sign board wasn't on.

oh well.... we went back to baling and i decided to just eat at our usual place Seri Landak Seafood. but tonight we did not order our usual menu of ikan bakar but i decided to have a small meal of nasi goreng cina tak pedas for danial and nasi goreng pataya for aiman. i shared in between them...oh! Afiq fell asleep during the trip and i let him sleep inside the car while we had our dinner. Don't worry ma, the car is parked beside us so i can watch him all the time.

We went straight back at home and end episode 1. See you in episode 2. It will be more interesting. Hehe.

Recap....

Another week has gone by, this week had been a hectic week for me and my family. Earlier in the week we had spent our Eid Adha in Alor Star at my parent inlaws house. We celebrated the raya in a modest celebration. My sisters' two elder brothers and her sister came back for the Raya.

they even managed to do some fishing...
but they only caught a non-edible crab...hehe

By the second day of raya, we made a move back to Baling. but my wife and i had to go back to Kuala Lumpur as she is starting her new semester the next day. The kids stayed at home with mak Lang (the nanny) taking care of them. we arrived at KL by 5 pm and the downpour was just starting there. We decided to make a pitstop to Midvalley. Had a short dinner and windowsopped a bit. Later that evening my wife sent me to the bus station in Jalan Duta as i am working the next day. i reached baling at about 4a.m.

The next few days was also busy as it seems many people got ill due to the uncertain weather and also due to the Raya celebrations (overeating i guess). Diabetic cases also went up as was hypertensive cases. Thursday evening i took the kids to the playground as i had the spare time that evening. Afiq also enjoyed playing there. Aiman and Danial doesn't need the encouragement because as soon as we had arrived there, they quickly rushed out the car and play. Afiq looked a bit scared when sliding down from the playground. Hehe.

Afiq trying the slide....he was nervous...haha
Afiq with Aiman

In another note, i am praying for my dearest friend fajar's son, He had another setback in his illness and had to undergo another operation. My thoughts and Prayers are with him always.

To Err Is Human

To Err Is Human, To Forgive is Divine.

Recently our DG of Health made a statement regarding the discovery of doctors in malaysia suffering mental illness. Reaction from the statement surprisingly hasn't come much from certain quarters. Mostly readers would comment on the issue through the Star Reader SMS.

It is said that these doctors got through the medical school due to the selection criteria is not strict enough. I wonder if you are really sick or a 'sicko', can you pass the medical school in the first place before you start your work as a Houseman in the Government Hospitals?

Are they really sick in the first place or are they couldn't cope with the hectic life and the ultra -pressure working as a houseman? It is not easy working as a houseman in Malaysia. but, i am proud to say that i have managed to get through it. Even though technically you can't be blame if you made a mistake in managing patients but the truth is that you WILL get blame by your superiors if something goes wrong. You just have to accept the fact that you are a slave to your work, to your patients, to your staffs and to your superiors. As my lecturer once said, 'houseman is the lowest lifeform in the world".

Houseman will start working as early as 6 am sometimes as they have to see all patients before the MO's and before the Specialist's come to do their rounds. They then would go for oncall for 24 Hours and later continue their work the next day until the evening sometimes. The total working hours could reach until 36 Hours or more. They have to remember that doctors are humans too, and to err is human. In the US now they are trying to reduce the number of working hours. It doesn't take a nuclear scientist to understand that the longer you work with minimal rest, the more chances that you might make a mistake resulting in Medical Negligence.

I am not trying to discourage people from taking up medicine, but sometimes it is just not fair trying to blame these doctors that suffers from these illness. You have to look both ways, from the doctors and also from the system itself.

These are my view regarding this issue, i still think that the medical profession is a noble profession. It is not about glamour nor about self-pride. It is about helping people. Amin....

While I Was Away

While I Was Away....

I was disconnected from the internet....Huhuhu...

I got a new ExStream surprise.....hahahaha

My wife is in her long holiday until Aidiladha......yeaaaaa

I went to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah with my family.....woooohoooo

I got addicted to Ebay.......huaaaaaaa

I missed blogging...........

but now......

I'M BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HEROES

The new season of Heroes has already started in the US. but here in Malaysia it is going to start again next week.

The concept of the series had captivated many audience and had taken the world by storm. I wonder why? maybe it is due to the fact that most of us aren't happy with our ability? or the fact that we could be so much more? or we longed for more power?

I guess for me, i like the series becaused it offers me an escape route to my daily life. i could ponder and i could dream of what i would do if i had the abilities like that. i have been fascinated with the concept of heroes, superpowers, mutants hence my liking towards comics, sci-fi series and movies.

what heroes character that you like the most or the power that you would like to have? my personal liking is Nathan Petrelli, due to his ability to absorb other people ability. but in the wrong hands it could be dangerous, because he would be unstoppable.

anyway, can't wait for next week....

Blues red faced

Congratulations to the Red Army for being the team to break Chelsea's unbeaten run for 86 games. We got a perfect start after Xabi Alonso scored in the 10th minute. After the goal we threatened the Chelsea goal on a few occasions. The team worked so hard to close down the Chelsea blue brigade. We could have added another goal if not for the shot from a freekick by Alonso smacked the post.

All in all, it was a very good win. but we must keep our feet on the ground because October doesn't win anything. I hope that this win is a catalyst for the team to go on and win the Premiership come May. I wondered what would have happened if Xabi Alonso had gone and signed for Juventus last summer. Rafa must have counted his lucking stars that the move had not gone.

Anyway, good luck for our next game against Pompey. YNWA.

Blacked Out

I told that i had a surprise today. well, the surprise didn't materialise today and had to be postponed due to some unforseen circumstances. I was looking forward for it but sadly it didn't work out as i had planned. nevermind, maybe it is a blessing in disguise today. and as they say patience is a virtue.

I wrote this entry after a black out in my residential area which is quite common. while i was lying around in the dark i had pretty much nothing to do except thinking to myself and playing around with my mobile phone.

I toggled through my contacts number. i've suddenly realised something which is quite amazing really. the number of contacts that i had mostly is my family numbers and ex-colleagues at work. but not much of friends. hmm. i wonder do i really have any. i can name a few but that's all. a few. i've never been a social kind of person. i spend most of time at home. being a young father also made me more homely. the fact that i am living and staying in baling also limits my ability to go out and meet up with my friends as mostly they are staying in KL or other places.

I've made that choice and i am not regretting is as i think my sons need me more around them rather than a father that is always out. maybe it is due to me growing up without a father and a father figure. i am trying to be a good father and maybe a friend to them also. Insyaallah.

Under the weather

Woke up early today (no, it's not for watching liverpool game against athletico, okay, okay, half of it is for watching the game) woke up to have my sahur and to watch the result of the game.

Today is my 5th day of 'Puasa 6'. i hope to complete it before the end of syawal. Afiq is also not feeling very well. he has slight flu. poor afiq, he is just slowly gaining weight and appetite and now he has another bout of flu.

The weather hasn't been very kind these past few days. it would rain cats and dogs every evening here. we even slept without using our ceiling fan because it is very cold.

My wife is coming back today. can't wait to see her. it's been a tough few days without her due to afiq not feeling well. Plus, can't wait for Friday. I got a surprise.....

See ya.

Comeback Kings?

Wow.. what another comeback. i'd rather not to be called comeback kings. Because i'd rather we won from the start than trailing and comeback. It's not good for my heart. Hehe.

Well, about the game itself. I think Wigan played very well considering they are playing away from home. Agger showed that he still need some match awareness after a long layoff from the game. Amir Zaki scored with ease after the mistake by Agger. Agger immediately redeemed himself by setting up the equaliser for Dirk Kuyt to score. It is like him playing as a left fullback instead of the dissappointing Dossena. After that Liverpool controlled the game but went behind by a wonderful strike by Zaki that silenced the Kop temporarily.

Second half remains the same story. Wigan played everyone behind the ball and was pressing hard on the Liverpool players. Then, the turnaround came. A. Valencia rash challenge on Alonso (Hmmm... it seems that every bad tackle on Alonso would be followed by a red card...que Everton game and Man City game). A second bookable offense resulting in a red card. A. Riera then opened his account as a Liverpool player by scoring.

Then, the man on form himself Dirk Kuyt. Popping up to score by the underside of the bar after some good work from Jermain Pennant. That's 4 goals in 3 games. The gaffer Rafa Benitez showed the will to win by scarificing 2 fullbacks Dossena and Arbeloa. That shows that he really wanted to win the Premiership this year. A couple of season back i think that he would not have made the tactical switch by playing with only 2 centrehalfs at the back. Kudos for him.

Overall, i think we deserved the win but should be better than this because next week comes the big test..... CHELSEA.. Enjoy this win and let's take one game at a time..

You'll Never Walk Alone.

Selamat Hari Raya

selamat hari raya aidilfitri

I guess its still not to late for me to wish all of you since technically Hari Raya is one month. This year my family and i went back to celebrate at my village (kampung) in Johor Bahru (my wife wouldn't call it a kampung since it is too near to the town but not me, hehe).

We started our journey on Monday evening, two days before raya. We departed from Baling at about 7 pm and reached Johor Bahru at about 4 am. It is tiring, but when it is going back to your home town, feeling tired doesn't even come close in your mind.

That morning, i decided to have my hair cut as i couldn't manage to do it earlier in Baling. We went to HP or Holiday Plaza. I even got to visit the local supplier for my fix of dvd's....ehem ehem (pirated ones). Later in the evening and at night, it's time for my kids (Aiman and Danial especially) to enjoy the eve of hari raya by playing with fireworks and 'bunga api'. They played with their cousins until very late at night. They even refused to go to bed.

Danial with his big grin....

Decoration with lights

Some of the fireworks

The next day, it's Hari Raya! Everyone is up early. Take their baths and put on their brand new Baju Melayu. I took my mother, Aiman and Danial for Hari Raya Prayers. After that we went to visit my father and my sisters' grave in Mahmoodiah Cemetery. It's been quite a while since i have visited the grave. I sometimes wished that i had lived nearer so that i can visit their grave more often. Then we all gather and ask for each other hands and for forgiveness. Aiman is excited because after we 'salam' it would follow with a gift of 'Duit Raya" (equivalent of angpow in Chinese New Year), he wanted to collect lots of it due a certain Batmobile that he wanted to buy. That afternoon we went to my eldest sister house and han lunch there. unfortunately Danial managed to break one of her mirror in the house. That reminds me that i still owe her a mirror.

My Family all dressed in yellow

My wife with her darling Afiq

The next day we went to a few houses and visited my aunt that i haven't seen for quite some time. By evening my family's house is fully booked as my brother from Kuala Lumpur and Malacca had arrived. I can't remember when was the last time all of us had gather together at the same time.

Third day we had a big family shoot. All of the families had their photos taken, and of course the big family photo. We planned that it would be at about 10am, but knowing my family it had started late. Finally we managed to get it done at high noon. Everyone had to stand under the scorching sun. but it was worth it. Watching all of us together really makes me happy.

My Eldest sister Kartina Ahmad with her husband

My second sister Kamaliah Ahmad with her family

My third sister Norhayati with her husband

My fourth brother Zainal Abidin with his family

My sixth sister Zaleha Ahmad with her family

My seventh brother Razif Ahmad with his family


My eighth brother Shukri with his family



My ninth sister with her children

Thats me the tenth member of the family



My siblings with our two mothers



Our Big Family Photo

The next day we started our journey back to Baling, but this time we didn't went back straight but made a one day pit stop in Kuala Lumpur. We went to my wife's friend house in Taman Equine in Seri Kembangan and my good friends' house in Kota Damansara. Then we went to Subang at my brother's house for dinner.

On Sunday we went to Puchong for lunch at my other brother house. After lunch we made our way back to Baling. Traffic is smooth sailing all the way, but i couldn't say the same about the traffic from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur. The traffic is at a crawl from the Ipoh Selatan toll to Kuala Lumpur.

There it is, my Hari Raya holiday. I hope you had enjoyed your holiday as much as i did. Selamat Hari Raya to All of you. Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

Inspire Me...

I've been trying to inspire to do something for myself, and i'm short of inspiration.... until lately. For the past 29 years of mylife i've been accumulating adipose tissue at my stomach, thigh, arms and buttock, or in laymen term....FAT...

My weight subsequently gave in to the adipose tissue that had been attacking my body and the end result was a whooping 86kg or 189lbs. I look fat, i feel fat... Somehow, something, triggered my biological clock. This has to stop. "I don't want to be a big fat l..d" I said to myself. It may sound harsh, but i need that to motivate me to slim down and town down. It's for my own good.

Last year after i started my own clinic, i started to eat sensibly. No more late night snacks. No more in between meals and to the extreme sometimes, no rice during dinner. It was hell at first, it feels like a junkie trying to detoxify all the toxins inside. Slowly but surely my body was able to adjust to the new regime.

By 6 months i lost almost 6kgs, but after that my weight started to stagnant again... It wont come down as easily as it initially was. Then my wife hit a bombshell to me by saying...."Kalau jaga makan aja tapi tak exercise tak guna jugak" (translation : it wont help just by dieting without a proper exercise). She was right. The amount of energy that i get by eating is the same as the energy that is needed in my daily activities. I later started to do small jogging, jumping ropes and other physical activites.

Voila! I lost another 5 kg that put me to 75kgs. I thought the hardest part of losing weight had gone. I was wrong!!!! The hardest part is to maintain your weight. For a male like me with low metabolism rate, to gain weight is as easy as that. For the next few months my weight had fluctuate between 74kg to 76kg. It is kinda depressing as i have put in a lot of effort to lose almost 10kg in 1 year.

It didn't help either when my wife went to further her studies in Kuala Lumpur to do her masters. It means less time for me to do any physical activity outside the house as i have to see for the children more. Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to imply that my children are made to an excuse for me not to exercise, it's just that i can't seem to find a proper time to do it.

Then, i had an inspiration...Why don't i just exercise at home... but how would i do it? Do i just do skipping? Do i just run aimlessly around the house? I've found a perfect solution that might work. I've bought a treadmill for myself. Then, i can adjust my time and adjust my routine.

My very own treadmill.

Hopefully it will inspire me more. Hehehe.

The side view

The treadmill can calculate your body mass level with your body fat level. And i am still in the overweight category. Huhuhu. It can also help you formulate a programme for your fitness level until you are perfectly fit and not to be overweight. It will also tell you how many calories that you have burnt during the workout and also the distance that you covered during the workout.

I've started to use it a few times already. And it ain't easy i tell you. I'm just going to slowly bulid up my fitness level until i can do a proper exercising. I'll update later on my fitness level and my progress in losing weight. Got to go now. She is calling me, (the treadmill of course)....hehehe.

Happy Birthday

Happy Belated Birthday My Little Afiq

You were born in the holy month of Ramadhan 1428H. Like your elder brothers before you, I was there to greet you into this world.

Your passage is not as easy as your other brothers, your mother was already in labor for almost 4 hours. Your mother had been pushing on for your life and hers and was struggling for an hour before they made a decision to send both of you to another hospital for further intervention. My heart beats faster and faster. I prayed "Dear God, Please help them".

My prayer was answered, there you were. I can see your head. Slowly you came, but you had difficulty due to an umbilical cord was caught in your neck. But you've made it. You've made it. I was relieved. We were relieved, both your mother and I.

You cried aloud, as if to say that you've managed to get through despite the hardship. I took you into my arms. Clean you up. Clear your lungs by suction and dried you up underneath the warmer.

That was a year ago. This is now. Enjoy your life my boy. Be a good son for both of us. Be a good brother. Be a good Muslim. Happy Birthday....Ahmad Afiq Iskandar....

Origin Part 1

Baling has 2 origin according to the locals here.

I'll tell the first story or folklore, there are no official transcripts or any historical documents that i can refer to as our culture doesn't emphasize much on recording or writing history which defers from the europeans.

The 1st story suggested that Baling was opened by settlers from Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) about 2 hundred years ago. They arrived at a valley area that was surrounded by a river, the Baling river and Gunung Baling (Baling Mountain).

View from my porch

View from the roadside

The Baling River

The settlers then cleared the land and started planting fruit trees and vegetable farms. When the orchard starts bearing fuits their joy was shortlived though. Monkeys came down by the thousands from the Baling mountain. They ultimately destroyed the orchards and vegetables. As the settlers had never seen thousands of monkeys they called it Ban-Lin which means Monkey. Slowly the name changed as it is called now which is Baling.

Hmmm, I do wonder sometimes wether the monkeys behind my backyard is the great-great-great grandson/daughter of the same monkey....LOL

The 2nd part of the origin will follow suit, and you'll be surprised..Stay tuned...Ciao...

All Aboard....

Hmmm....
I've bought a ticket for a trip to blogger expresss. The thing is, i'm not sure wether it is a one way ticket or a return ticket.

My encouragement for starting my own blog comes from my dearest wife. And of course my two closest friends. It took me quite some time for starting this journey as i had doubts on my own ability to write and to express my own thoughts.

Then it occured to me, what the heck... i might as well give it a try. Where do I start? There is so many junction in my journey that i can start from.
First of all,let me introduce myself. I'm a private practitioner (a private doctor) that own a clinic in a small town in Baling, Kedah Malaysia.

Sorry for the map, its quite blur as i am still learning on how to do stuff inside the blog. Maybe there is another map that i can show you.

If u can see, Baling is at the right lower corner near the border to Perak. I was previously working as a medical officer in Baling Hospital until last year when i decided to quit and start my own private practice. My home is also in Baling which is nearby my clinic. I have 3 boys and a lovely wife who is also working as a doctor, but currently she is pursuing her masters degree in Public Health at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Why Baling? Many of my friends and my family asked me that question. And most of the time i would answer back. Why not? I've lived in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Ipoh and etc... It's too hectic and too many people. I'm a laid back person and like to take things slow. It's not that i can't live in those towns but i just can't stand the traffic, the rushing hours. Here, I can take my time slowly and the level of stress is very much lower. My workplace is just 2 minutes away by car, my sons kindergarten is just 5 minutes away. The post office, the banks is also within walking distance. If i want to go away once in a while, i can drive down to penang which is 1 hour drive or Kuala Lumpur about 4 hours drive.

Well, i think that's just about it for a short introduction. There is more to tell and more to share. see ya.

PS ...I've got a link on a map to Baling