Its a Marathon, Not a Sprint.

I haven't written anything on my blog for more then 2 months now. Its been a super challenging time for me here in India. Frustration, annoyance, disgruntlement. I was at first diagnosed with having renal calculi. I did multiple ultrasounds and a CT scan here in India but the scans showed nothing. So I thought maybe the stone had passed out and the doctors kept on saying that theres nothing to worry about. So I would go home feeling a little bit more relieved.

However, the severe pain kept coming back again and again. Pain is rather subjective. It is so difficult to describe pain to people. There are two types of pain, acute and chronic pain. In which it is further subdivided into more categories. Being a person who is active in sports and suffered so many different types of injuries, pain shouldn't be a problem for me. But this pain is totally different. I've never experienced anything like it. People who have not experienced it will not understand. If I hadn't got it, I probably could not imagine how the pain can prevent one from sleeping,talking and even causing a loss in appetite. This is by far the worst type of pain that I've experienced and I don't think I would wish that my enemies would suffer the same thing. Yeah, Its that bad and I'm not exaggerating one bit. Enough about the pain already.

So basically, this pain has prevented me from attending classes and studying like normal. I naturally became more worried because there wasn't much explanation for the pain. Why on earth is it still there if the doctors say that there is nothing there?? So I decided to go back to Malaysia and have a second opinion. (wait, not second but 4th or 5th opinion) I did all the blood tests, urine microscopy , an ultrasound and finally a MRI. I think by now, I might have had undergone more ultrasound scans compared to a pregnant lady. -.-'' Everything was clear! I didn't know if I should be happy or sad. If everything was fine, what on earth was causing this TERRIBLE pain?

I saw my urologist the next day and he suddenly came up with a diagnosis. Loin Pain Hematuria Syndrome. WTH is that I thought? He said it was an auto immune disease and that there is no cure for it. Wow, Thank You doctor , thats very comforting. He referred me to a nephrologist on the same day. While waiting for the other doctor to come, I googled this unknown syndrome.

Its a SUPER rare disorder( only about 200+ cases worldwide) and 80% of the people affected are women. No cure and only pain management. I didn't want to read further at that time and so I went in to see the nephrologist. He was a much better person as compared to the stupid, uncompassionate urologist. (he should seriously improve on his people skills no matter how good he is) He said that he will not do a biopsy because it is an invasive procedure and I am young so he wouldn't want to damage anything. The most comforting part was that he said the pain will taper off after some time ( how long is 'some time' , well I don't know)

At home I read more about this unheard of disease. I bet that 80% of my lecturers have not even heard of it. It IS NOT AN AUTOIMMUNE disease so the urologist gave a bad description about it.

So I flew back to India, just hoping that the pain will be some how taper off eventually. At that time, I didn't know what was worrying me more. My health, attendance or studies. Obviously its a no brainer, Health always comes first.

I could always blame bad luck but I guess I will not do it. The first 5 months in India, I was plagued with diarrhoea and food poisoning . Just as I thought everything was fine after I got sensitized to the food here, I got this problem. Well, I can only think of it as a challenge by God to make me a better person. Maybe he wants me to understand how a patient feels so that I will study even harder. My parents and other family members have been super supportive during this tough period and I can't thank them enough. I wouldn't want to make them worried but this is not just a regular bout of flu where you will recover quickly so I had to tell them. My friends here have been helpful as well .

Anyway, hope I can sit for my final exam this time around and that they will have some mercy (those tempes think differently) However , no matter what the outcome is , this whole episode will definitely make me a stronger person and a better doctor in the future. I will not give up that easily. Like my cousin used to say ''MBBS is not a sprint, Its a Marathon'' There is still a long way to go and this is just a hurdle in life.

I'll leave you with a video I saw on Maegyvear's blog. Very inspirational.

Our Mysore Family

After knowing our placements here in India, the only guy I knew rather well was Cheng. Mei Yee and Loga were my classmates in KTT but we weren't that close. I knew Wan just a little from football. Asida, always saw her playing badminton in the evenings but hardly ever talked to her. Shafiee, I barely knew he even existed. Aisyah on the other hand was a total new discovery all together during KI. All my really close friends were scattered all over Karnataka and some even in Karad. Obviously I was quite sad with the placement of everyone. I'm pretty sure the rest of my friends here in Mysore felt the same.

However, after more then half a year staying together here in Mysore, I can't help but feel that we're one big(actually its small) happy family.

The numerous meals, functions, birthday parties have made us to somewhat bond with each other. Im really grateful with what I have here in Mysore. We are close with our seniors too which is good. Maybe its because we are just a small community of Malaysians in a foreign land thus making us bond easily.

Recently, Kesha got sick and was admitted to hospital. It was beautiful to see all of us together in that small room with her. We're all in this together. Liverpool's awesome motto, 'You'll Never Walk Alone' often rings in my head at times like this. Anyway, I'll leave you with some photos before I continue nerding :)

The Ugly Side of Things..

Some of us here in India haven't actually seen much of the 'other side' of India. The side not usually highlighted by the media (only occasionally)

Today, me and my housemate were one our way to our college football field when my senior called to tell that football is cancelled. We were like 200m away from our destination when we got to know about it. My friend decided to take a detour (not just turn back and back track all the way home). It was like some kind of adventure. We passed through soooooo many things that will make you just depressed. The state at which some people are living here is just so sad. Houses made from leaves,mud. All in a very crowded area, no proper sanitation, no electricity. These are the things that will just open your eyes and make you appreciate the things you have in life.

Little kids were just loitering around with sticks in their hands, some playing with stones without a care in the world. Its just sad to see that they don't really have much of a future. Something must be done to help these people. The gulf between the rich and the poor here is just too great~! Something must be done to help these people. I didn't take any pictures of the places that I passed simply because it was too depressing. How can the rich people live comfortably in their HUGE houses when these people are suffering every night? Makes you start to ponder. When has the world ever been fair?

I think the things that I've witnessed today will spur me on to work harder and be a doctor. Helping these kind of people would certainly bring me joy. God willing, I hope it'll come true in the future:)

Friday Nights ..

Friday nights used to be something that I look forward to every week when I was schooling. Not now though, we have classes on Saturdays too. My current mood : bored and lazy. Its been quite some time since i've written anything here. My 3rd internals were over last week. I think I have a tendency to be overconfident with my ability to memorize and understand stuff. Thus I leave certain topics to last minute reading leading to disaster. In medicine, you'll only get confused if you do that. Causing massive confusion when you're answering the exam questions. Note to self. Never leave studies to the 11th hour .

Oh ya. I've got an interesting story about something that happened during my Physiology exam last week. Halfway into the exam, some guy from the forensic department came into the examination hall saying that some people are cheating using bluetooth devices. 2 people were caught hiding something in their ears . They used the bluetooth device to connect to someone outside the hall and read the questions to the senior helping them . Damn crazy right? So brave of them to even do that. The cool thing about it was that the Forensic professor was smarter then them because he discovered them cheating(the forensic dept was carrying out a test too, so he used his mobile phone to check if anyone was using bluetooth in the exam hall to connect with people outside).

Other then that, it finally rained yesterday. After 2.5 long and dry months! IT RAINED~! I was so excited seeing the rain. Its nothing like the rain in Malaysia but I was thankful nevertheless for the showers of blessing from God.

Anyway, I gotta go now. Should start studying. Practicals in 10 days time. Sorry for such a disjointed blog post..

~you'll never walk alone~

Dancing In the Rain

Malaysia has been experiencing really bad weather the past week. I've been reading about reports of floods occurring in the Southern part of Peninsular Malaysia and also some parts of Pahang. Such great contrast to the weather over here. Its SUPER dry here. I'm not one that fancies putting lotion before sleeping but I have no choice but to apply it here. Alot of trees seem to be drying up and the grass is turning brown. (If got green patches means someone probably 'fertilized' it la *wink*) It isn't even summer yet! It still is kindda cold at night and hot in the afternoons.

I can't remember the last time it rained here. Early December perhaps? Haha..I'm complaining about it not raining now but come July/August, I'll probably be complaining about the rain. Hope to see some rain clouds sometime soon as its getting really dusty !

I miss this! Football in the rain and mud, always the best. Loved the sliding tackles:)

This is more like it. Exactly what this place looks like during the monsoon season

The Humble Umbrella...A must during that period. Though Mangalore/Manipal students use it all year round :)

Why ewwww?

You need to love a place in order to live comfortably and achieve your goals. I no longer despise India but I have started to be more positive about things here. It ain't a bad place to live and study. If I was in UK or Russia, I would be practically dying there because of the cold and the food. I for one can't live without rice. Here, the food is nice (just that you tend to get bored after a while) .

I've made a few friends in college and also around the area where I live. The guy at Lemon Tree, Pascucci, our caretaker, Mr Ranganatha . I believe that getting to know the people around you makes you feel more at home. Cheng, Wan and I try to talk to them in the little Kannada that we know. We're nice to our caretaker and guess what? Today he paid for my auto because I didn't have change. I went upstairs to go grab some change and the auto driver was already leaving. See! If you do good to others, most of the time good things happen to you.

Anyway, I bought these 2 jerseys recently. I like the blue one. India's cricket jersey! I know people will say EWWW...dah macam tempe etc etc...but who cares:) I'm gonna be here for 5 years man! I will make the most of my stay here:)

Next step : try to understand how the whole cricket game is played .

~You'll Never Walk Alone~

Transfer Frenzy~!

Last night was just absolutely crazy! Frantic stuff going on all over Europe especially in England. What am I talking about? The transfer deadline of cause. It was all really exciting mainly due to the fact that Liverpool were playing a big part in the whole thing. Fernando Torres's departure sparked a massive domino effect on a few clubs. Liverpool got Andy Carroll for 35 million Pounds which I still think is a ridiculous fee for someone with just so little experience at a top level. Just hopes he is a fantastic buy for the club.

I was following ESPN Soccernet throughout the night and I must say, it very much reminded me of the stock markets. All the hustle of bustle of players going here and there.Those crazy rumours. Rejected bids. One thing is for sure, there was so much drama the whole night. Liverpool fans are really bitter by the manner at which Torres has left the club. They're saying he didn't even say 'thanks' for the immense support he got from the fans all the while he was here. Some idiots went as far as burning the shirt of their former icon. I just feel that he should have at least thanked them. Moving to Chelsea as he described was a 'BIG STEP FORWARD' in his career. It remains to be seen. One of my favourite quotes about Chelsea that I came across last night was that 'they're a plastic club with a load of plastic players'. Quite true actually.

Anyway, I can't wait to see Suarez and Carroll pair up front for this club. Its a mouth-watering prospect :) It cant only get better from here as we've hit rock bottom already this season. God Bless Liverpool!

It was something like this following last night's action:)


I bet some people's reaction was the same as this when they heard Liverpool's bid for Carrol cost 35mil!

Club's most expensive player. Crazy in my opinion because he was simply unknown just 7 months ago. Hope its a masterstroke by King Kenny.

Fish Auction in Japan. Can't help feel the same way about the way football players are these days. The highest bidder gets the player.

Hope he scores loads of goals for Liverpool too. Torres wasn't a prolific goalscorer in Athletico Madrid either. Sometimes, its all about the service a striker gets.

He looks good in a LFC kit doesn't he? ;)

You'll Never Walk Alone

No player is ever bigger then the club. So with the imminent departure of Fernando Torres from Liverpool, I still believe that there is still hope for this club. Its been a very long time sine I've wrote anything about football here. Not that I'm not interested in the Beatiful Game anymore, its just that Liverpool have simply been so poor this season. I simply do not want to remember anything from this season.

The arrival of Liverpool Legend , Kenny Dalglish seemed to have sparked a revival for the team from Merseyside. Many people have started believing that the good times will be back sooner rather then later.

On Friday night, before sleeping I sent a text to Selvan telling him that Liverpool have signed Suarez from Ajax. A record signing too! A real positive step in my eyes. However, the very next day, this good news was overshadowed by the fact that Fernando Torres handed in a transfer request to the club. I couldn't believe that he would do such a thing. More so after Liverpool are showing intent (with new owners, a new manager,etc? that they mean business now.

Nevertheless, perhaps he is just frustrated at the lack of trophies here. A footballer's career is a very short one and he's already 27 this year. Perhaps it really is time to go and be part of a better team. Perhaps he looked at the aging Stevie G and asked himself 'Do I want to be like him?' A fantastic player stuck in a club where they never seem to be 'RIGHT UP THERE CHALLENGING FOR TITLES'. Yeah, I definitely can understand his frustration but I also believe he should show more loyalty to the club and the fans who love (now maybe loved) him so much!

No matter how terrible, awful, woeful Liverpool are, I'll still be supporting them. Once a Red, Always a red! Torres can leave if he wants to. The money that the club gets from selling him could be used to buy many other players and thus strengthen the squad.

You'll Never Walk Alone. I sense a brighter few years ahead of Liverpool now.

Can't believe that he's even considering Chelsea. A RIVAL of Liverpool. He should go to Spain or Italy .


Dark, dark times at LFC . Just look at their faces..

In Kenny , We Trust!

Hope this guy would be a Legend at Liverpool. The missing link perhaps?

Living Skills

They say that if you know how to cook, you can pretty much survive anywhere in the world. I think its true. I've been enjoying home cooked meals for more then a week now. Cooking's actually really easy. Its not rocket science, basically you just mix whatever you want and walaa! A tasty meal that somewhat resembles the awesome food you have at home. I got tired of all the masala, butter chicken, briyani, fried rice, gobi manchurian etc! Everything tastes almost the same. Solution? Cook la

I'll perhaps show some pictures of the food that my housemates and I cooked(not now, someday:)

Here are some pictures of the things I see almost everyday in India. Just a teaser..;)

The lovely pattern on the coffee from Pascucci


Goats passing in front of our house. A daily routine with the 'shepherd' leading them. I once saw a newly born goat. This is something you don't see everyday in KL


Kids peeing! Seriously, they were:) Hopefully in 10-20 years time, we won't see this in India anymore

My housemate happily playing Ragnarok . Another thing I see EVERYDAY. He's studying now by the way.

Since my housemate who always plays games has started studying, I guess its time for me to get started too. Till then, adios! :)

New Experiences ('',)

It was Ponggal and a holiday here in Mysore. I woke up really early that morning just to go for a jog and experience the cold weather in the mornings. I woke shorts and a t shirt and went out. I passed by a few temples and some of them had some colourful drawing/paintings/whatever you call it on the ground in front of the temples.

At the park, I was the only one not using warm clothing. Never try to be a hero during winter! You'll end up suffering. The temperature that time was probably somewhere between 12-14 degrees C. I jogged for 2 rounds and I had to stop because I couldn't feel my hands anymore. It was a fun experience though. I did not even sweat one bit and I went back home and just jumped into bed to continue sleeping.

I do wonder how those EPL players play during winter. Its freaking crazy! In fact, its torture!

_______________________________________________________________

Lectures were rather boring this week. The only interesting lecture was respiration I think. The rest was so-so. Dissection was fun. Got to play with the brain .
_______________________________________________________________

Another really interesting thing happened today. We woke up and went for classes as usual. I was rather pumped up because it's a Saturday which means half day of class . When we arrived in college, I saw people walking in the opposite direction( towards the hostels). Alot of people were just standing around at the foyer of the college. Alot of discussion going around everywhere. Suddenly Wan appeared and told us that classes were cancelled due to some strike. YAY! (but burned 100 Rupees on auto fare though)
This would have never happened back home so all these new experiences are really fun. Especially when they involve HOLIDAYS. Anyway, most shops were closed till about 6 in the evening.

January is already coming to an end. Another few weeks till second internals. I've gotta study hard! ROAR!
Looking forward to the 24th of January . The A-Level results will be out then, hope all my juniors will do well. God bless. OK NEED TO STUDY NOW! BYE

My Limousine

In India, public transport is easily available unlike Malaysia. Autos can be seen at almost every corner of the streets here. Since we're staying a few Km away from college we have to take these auto rickshaws to college. It costs around Rs 50 one way for 3 people. Quite alot of money actually. So basically we catch our auto from these regular group of people from a nearby auto stand. Today, like every other morning we went out. UNFORTUNATELY there were no more autos in the waiting in the stand.

We were running late already (but I wasnt too worried actually , because our first class was just a class about communication skills of a doctor) Anyway, this old uncle came along in his auto and we stopped him. We asked him the price and he mumbled something in Kannada and we could make him out saying 60 Rupees. OK whatever la uncle, just get us to class.PRONTO!
This old man 'drove' us there in WALKING PACE. Shit! haha..I bet I could run faster. He even stopped by his friend's house on the way to get 'Ponggal'(sweet rice) and was coughing and spitting phlegm all the way to college. The journey that normally takes just 10 minutes took 20 minutes today. We were 3 minutes late. Once we got down, I gave him a 100 Rupee note and he just gave me 20 bucks back. DAMN OLD FOOL! He cheated us! But we were too late to argue with him. So we just cursed at him and ran off for class. May God punish all these cheaters! On the other hand, that old fool looked really sickly to put it in a good way, perhaps we donated some money for his hospital fees. Anyway, these is what foreigners here have to deal with most of the time. They try and trick/cheat/manipulate/threaten their way into getting more money. Screw them though, we've been here long enough to know the normal rates.
I'll leave you with two pictures .

HEBAT RIGHT MY AUTO?? HAHA...IN MY DREAMS ONLY LA..

This is more like it...See that happy old man who's waiting to cheat people? Haha.

11.1.11

The date's supposed to be auspicious? Highly doubt it cause I'm still having fever and flu. I kindda hate winter already (yes..even the winter in Mysore). I'm truly a Malaysian and I tend to thrive in hot and humid conditions.:) Conclusion: I need to get FATTER and boost my immune system:)

Found this online..So I'll just do this for fun while waiting for lunch.

LASTS:
1. Last beverage→ Plain Water
2. Last phone call–> Cheng
3. Last text message→ Aunty Junee
4. Last song you listened to–> This morning..Whaddya want from me ,adam lambert. Cheng was listening to it before going to class.
5. Last time you cried→ Err..2009?

HAVE YOU EVER:
1. Dated someone twice → Does dinner count? If so, then Yes
2. Been cheated on? Nope
3. Kissed someone & regretted it? → Noo
4. Lost someone special?→ Yeah, 3 people in the year I was sitting for my SPM.
5. Been depressed?→ Who hasn't?
6. Been drunk and threw up? → I don't drink @.@

LIST FOUR FAVORITE COLORS:
1.Red
2.Black
3.Blue

HAVE YOU:
1. Made new friends → In India? yeap:)
2. Fallen out of love → Nope.
3. Laughed until you cried → Yeah...probably during one of those suppers with my cousins and brother:)
4. Met someone who changed you → Yeap
5. Found out who your true friends were → Definitely
6. Found out someone was talking about you → Erm..Yea, loads of times but i pretend that I didn't hear anything
7. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list? → The facebook list?
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life → I know about 97% of them.
9. How many kids do you want to have→ Dunno....2? Not relevant question in my life now
10. Do you have any pets → Not now
11. Do you want to change your name→ Nope.I love my name. No one in the world has the same name
12. What did you do for your last birthday → Studied Physiology
13. What time did you wake up today → 5am (studied abit then didn't feel too good so I went back to bed) :(
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → Sleeping
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → The next HOLIDAYS!!
16. Last time you saw your father→ 2nd Jan. Skype doesn't count
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life→ I'm relatively happy about it now...so nah..
18. What are you listening to right now → The sound of the fan, and a few horns going off every now and then
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → Hmm...I don't think so
23. What’s getting on your nerves right now? → The fact that I'm sick and I cant attend classes:(
24. Most visited web page → Facebook obviously...followed by soccernet and twitter

WHAT:
1. What’s your name → Don't wanna answer this
2. Nicknames → Most of the nicknames I get are from my height.People used to call me Gerrard in school. Haha..
3. Relationship Status → Married to Chaurasia, Jain and Vasudevan .Single la duhh
4. Zodiac sign → Virgo
5. Male or female → -.-''
6. Elementary school→ Tudm Sbg
7. High School → TTDI jaya
8. Height →184cm, the last time i checked. Though I might have grown a Cm or 2 :)
10. Hair color → Almost black.haha.
11. good at → Sports I suppose
16. bad at → Dancing , Everything related to Art.
17. What do you like about yourself? → lalala~
18: What don’t you like about yourself? → Im shy?
19. Piercings → No..I'm not easily influenced by that stuff
20. Tattoos → A BIG NO
21. Righty or lefty → RIGHT

FIRSTS :
22. First fight → Should be with my brother
23. First embarrassment → cant remember
24. First best friend → erm...Ikram. My neighbour when I was in standard 1
26. First kiss → O
27. First pet → Fish
28. First vacation→ Haiyo..Can't remember la
29. First crush → Lol..to be honest, I don't know
30. First boyfriend → I'm not gay
49. Eating → I don't understand this question. But I would love to eat nasi lemak instead of briyani
50. Drinking → water water water .H2O is the way to go!
52. I’m about to → Have lunch
53. Listening to → I've already answered this
55. Waiting for –> Cheng and the rest to come home from class

YOUR FUTURE :
58. Want kids? → Yea, I think so
59. Want to get married? → Probably
60. Careers in mind? → Im studying medicine. So yeah

YOUR PERFECT MATE
68. Lips or eyes → Eyes
69. Hugs or kisses → Hugs
70. Shorter or taller → Shorter
71. Older or Younger → Same age or younger
72. Passive or agressive → A mixture of both
73. Personality or looks → Both
74. Quiet or loud → 50/50
75. Hook-up or relationship → ?
77. Trouble maker or hesitant → Neither

HAVE YOU EVER :
78. Kissed a stranger → No
79. Drank hard liquor → Yucks Nope. I hate the smell of it
80. Lost glasses/contacts → Nope
81. Told a big lie…or joke → A big lie? Nah..Just white lies
82. Broken someone’s heart → You have to ask them. But probably yes
83. Had your own heart broken→ Yup..lol
85. Been arrested → No no no
86. Turned someone down → Yea..please don't curse me..
87. Cried when someone died → Hmm..got tears la
88. Liked a friend that is a girl? → Yeap.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself → Yeah.
90. Miracles → Istanbul baybeh!
92. Hell → yeap
93. Santa Clause –> nope2
95. Kiss on the first date? → Noo
96. Angels → Yes...lazy to type already

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
97. Is there one person you want to be with right now? → More then one person.--> My family!
98. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time? Never had one also, how can I have many!
100. Posting this as 100 Truths? → :)

T.W.E.N.T.Y.E.L.E.V.E.N

Holidays have come and gone. It was a short and sweet holiday in Malaysia. I enjoyed every moment of it. It was really great to see my family again, the food and my old friends:) Didn't take many photos at home though(Didn't wanna waste precious time you see)

Its also time to say Goodbye to 2010. The year I left home and went to India. I will summarize 2010 in 1 word--> Average. and Average isn't good enough.

Here's to a more productive 2011!:) I have my own new year's resolutions but I'll keep them to myself for now. Its always better to do things silently and then BANG!:)

Some Pictures from 2010.( Since my blog posts have been really dull recently)

Memories from 2010
KI in KTT! It was really fun to meet up with all my close friends before separating in India

Now don't they look familiar? See them everyday now:) The Mysore Family

My Best friends in KTT! (sorry about your eye Selvan-tried to remove the red eyes effect)

Susu! All geared up for India
The 3 headed monsters!
Seconds before he nearly dropped my phone- he stil remembers that moment :)HAHA!


Then there was Feskott. Probably the last ever athletics meet that I'll take part in.

I then enjoyed the World Cup where the team I supported lifted the cup of life! They're the perfect example to the world that people should not give up so easily after a failure. They did not let the defeat in their 1st match effect them and they were mentally strong + had enough self confidence to eventually be the best team in the world.
After all the farewells and goodbyes, it was time to leave home and head off to land of spices! What and experience it had been I've got to say.

First glimpses of India

With my juniors, this year it'll be their turn to rock India:) I have to say, I can't wait for them to come.haha:p

We looked so happy and fresh back then. I'm very sure the intensity of the dark circles around the eys have increased greatly since then.

1 Malaysia in Mysore. When we are overseas, we don't introduce ourselves as Malay,Chinese, Indian ,etc. We just call ourselves Malaysians. People back home should follow suit.

My Family <3 style="text-align: justify;">I'm being really honest here. India is actually a great place to study. There are of cause ALOT of trials and tribulations that you will face once you are here but I believe that these are the things that will eventually build your character. Alot of people back home don't really know how India is like. They have a certain picture of India in their heads (most of it negative stuff) .While some if it may be true, other peoples' idea of India is just WRONG. One has to stay here and experience it for themselves to judge.

This year, I do not want to complain about being here but rather be thankful that I've been given a fantastic opportunity to study medicine here. So yeap! No more comparing everything to Malaysia, I'll make the most of what I've got here.

Back to more photos...

The Manipal Family come over for a short visit:) Great to see them again!
Playing badminton with Selvan in Marena!
With KTT-ians in Mangalore
The Majestic Mysore Palace. I still think it looks better when the lights are switched off.
Us at the Mysore Zoo! The animals there were damn healthy

With some of my local friends here. The people here are really friendly!:)

St Philomena's Church.

We dropped by Ooty when the Manipal family visited us

Met up with these people after so LONG! haha..I think i have put on enough weight to survive the next 7 months here.

Anyway, HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! May 2011 be an awesome year for us:)
This was actually my first time ever taking a picture with the Jalur Gemilang :p This is what being away from your home country does to you.

Sensitized~!

Here in India, lecturers are extremely strict/think they're always right/demand respect/vaults of knowledge. I've seen people being scolded for no apparent reason at all or very petty things such as YAWNING! I mean, yawning sometimes can't actually be avoided right? That professor being the Head Of Department of Physiology should know better (or at least one would think so)

What is yawning?
from wikipedia

A yawn (from the Middle English yanen, an alteration of yonen or yenen, which in turn comes from the Old English geonian^[1]), is a reflex of simultaneous inhalation of air and stretching of the eardrums, followed by inhalation of breath.

I guess the second sentence is the reason why they get so pissed off when people are yawning in their class.

Yawning is associated with tiredness, stress, overwork, lack of stimulation, and boredom. Yawning can also be a powerful non-verbal message with several possible meanings, depending on the circumstances. HIGHLIGHT the WORD BOREDOM!!

People who smile in class also get scolded. Like WTH right? What if I smile because I'm happy to learn the stuff that they're teaching. Anyway, we all have just got to live with their ancient methods of teaching in this country.

The past 10 days have been super stressful. I started studying too late for the portions for my internals and well, you just can't study last minute in medicine. It will lead to EPIC FAILURE. I have definitely learnt my lesson. I still have one more paper to go--> Biochemistry! and then its HOME!:)

Who said studying medicine is easy? Frankly, nobody. Its all about hard work and consistency.

Its not all rosy here in Mysore I have to say. Recently, all the Malaysian student had to see the Principal because we mass bunked classes in October. Most of my friends skipped class to study for the internals and I was sick during that time. I have naturally annoyed when they told me not to bunk. I tried telling them that I was sick during that period but obviously people here don't believe me. My attendance is low because early on, I was sick very often. But there is no such thing as Sick Leave in this stupid place. Haha! But it was a good experience though(not the being sick part la) The part where we had to see the principal. I've never been called to the Principal's Office for 'discipline problems'. I know I did nothing wrong so I can perhaps laugh it off now. Just hope I won't get sick next year. I have BIG PLANS for 2011 so I hope God will bless me with Good Health.

This bible verse is also pasted on the wall in front of me to further motivate me while I'm studying.
'' He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgement. Diligent hands will rule , but lazyness ends in slave labour. The lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possesions.''
Proverbs 12: 11,24,27

~Hope the next one week will past in a flash! Can't wait to smell the air at home!:)

~You'll Never Walk Alone~

COUNTDOWN!

20 days to go before I finally head HOME! YES! Never felt like this before probably because I used to go home every weekend when I was in KTT.

What's on my mind now? HOMEEEE and FOOTBALL and SPORTS and GREAT FOOD!

If people say that I've lost weight since coming here, I'm going to blame it on DIARRHOEA! I thought I was sensitized to the food here already till I got it again today. Miss class again today which sucks!

I currently am feeling super bored here. Just 4 days to go before my Physiology Internals. Hope my preparation will be good enough. There's ALOT to read and I don't think I've felt as if I know everything from the book even after reading 2 times. Maybe I should work EVEN HARDER for the future exams so that can follow the footsteps of my seniors.

I wished there we're people who played football nearby (I could just join in whenever I want to). Badminton also has been shelved aside as everyone is having exams. I was gaining back my stamina somewhere in September/October for the badminton tournament among us Malaysians . During that tournament, I somehow managed to beat my senior who was unbeaten against me in the final.It was an epic match -just like all the games that I've played against him,it lasted 3 sets. In the end, my stamina was good enough to edge him. fter that, it has been downhill and I've also stopped going to the gym after falling sick in mid October. (must start back next year!!)

Anyways, blogging to kill time while waiting for my food to arrive now. There is a power cut here(happens everyday) now and I've switched off all the lights just to save electricity because we're using just a small generator.

Hope the next 20 days will past in a FLASH! till then, tata!

Namaste Again :)

My 1st internals are done and dusted already. I did alright I think(for the 1st ever exam in India) but lots more room for improvement. My practicals were over last week and I will be having my second internals next week. I will make sure I study really really hard for that. Going back to Malaysia straight after my last paper will definitely be a great motivating factor.

Once again, I am too lazy to upload pictures on my blog. They're all in facebook so you can view them there. Like I said in the last post, surprises await you everyday in India. Both good and bad. I recently went for my first long trip in India during Diwali. It was great to meet my best friends there after a long time. Hope we all stay connected throughout the 5 years . Keeping in touch with people is a two-way thing. If you're the only one 'pulling the strings' and making an effort to keep in touch with your friends, then that friendship will not last long. Well, that is how I see it anyway. Too lazy to elaborate on this point.

Anyways, I went to Mangalore and visited Manipal as well (Manipal is about an hours bus ride from Mangalore). So Cheng and me, with two of our seniors (Albert and Yi You) bought train tickets online and we were on our way to Mangalore. We went via sleeper class ( THE SECOND WORST CLASS ) but it was a good adventure though. If you are young and healthy, it shouldn't be a problem to travel in this class. We couldn't get better classes as we booked our tickets quite late. The journey took about 8 hours and 45 minutes. It was a really long ride and I didn't really sleep well because I was rather worried about my bags about pick pockets. I was probably paranoid after hearing alot of stories about theft in the train but to be honest, it was quite safe. Better be safe then sorry though and you mustn't be complacent cause everything could happen in a split second.

I had an awesome time in Mangalore meeting up with ALOT of my friends from KTT. Thanks to those who took time off from their studies to meet us and to those who took the trouble to bring us around.

We went to Manipal on the second day. I have to say, being in Manipal , you don't really feel like you're experiencing life in India. They're so many foreigners and Malaysians there. The main admin building was not as nice as looked in the pictures but one thing that was AWESOME was MARENA. The newly built sports complex in Manipal. I wish there was one here in Mysore but I shouldn't complain. We had some Malaysian food in Manipal and I was off to Marena to play badminton with Selvan. People would probably think I'm crazy. Travel all the way just to play badminton but that makes me happy. Too simple? Maybe. It was fantastic to meet up with both my former housemates again. HAHA..it was as if we we're in KTT. The good ol days. Too bad the BDS students were having exams during that time so I couldn't really spend much time with them.

We came back from Mangalore by bus and the cold weather that greeted us back in Mysore was a welcomed change from the scorching conditions in Mangalore. Okay, maybe scorching isn't the right word but it was certainly really hot there.

I came back and had practical exams 10 days after that. It was a good exposure to practical exams. VIVAs can be really scary at times especially when you don't know what the lecturers are going to ask you. One thing I learnt from this exam was that you need a certain amount of luck during practicals. I did relatively well in my practicals and the thing I need to improve alot is my spotters for gross anatomy. Need to play around with the cadaver more often during dissection .

The weekend after our practicals ended, the Manipal Family (thats what they call themselves) came down to Mysore for a visit. Had an amazing time with them again. Thank God for enabling us to be able to meet up quite often. We went to Ooty too but the whole trip was rather a rushed one as they just spent one day to travel around Mysore and a few hours to cover Ooty. Ooty is definitely a place that everyone should visit if they're here. Its really peaceful and not polluted up there. I really enjoyed the journey through the forest reserve ( we got to see wild deers,peacocks,bixon, elephants and even a BLACK BEAR...and did i mention in the WILD?? ) haha.I prefer these kind of places rather than shopping centres and busy polluted cities.

Well, pictures can once again be viewed on facebook. I'll stop writing now. Can't wait to go back HOME next MONTH!! WHEEEE:)
Till then, You'll Never Walk Alone :)

The Republic of India~

FINALLY~!! After almost 3 months here, I'm updating my blog. *blows away the spiderwebs* There's just soooooooo much to write about my new experience here in India. Studies have been okay thus far though I believe it has been disrupted quite a few times when I was sick. During the first two months, I got diarrhoea almost every week -.-'' I guess after all that, I'm finally sensitized to the food here. I should do better in the second internals as well since I'm all adjusted to this place already. Other than that, I believe India's a great place to LEARN new things. Everyday's like an adventure here.

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The weeks leading up to my departure, mama n papa cooked alot of amazing food. We even had a small family gathering on the last weekend I spent at home before leaving. Almost everyone was there so it was awesome! It was a pity I didn't manage to go to Taiping and see my uncles and aunties over there. One of the last few meals I had at home was NASI LEMAK (lol..I'd go crazy if I see it now) and Bak Kut Teh. ***************************************************************************************
Trip to the airport
We left the house rather early, just to be safe of cause (after picking Keevan up from college). Shabi akka came straight from school to send me off at the airport too. Haha! Not too long ago, I was the one sending her off to UK...but this time it was my turn ;) Alot of my juniors from KTT came too( cyaa guys next year)

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The Aeroplane
The plane was very small. Just a Boeing 737 and the seats were very cramped. I sat beside Rahim and Joanna . How ironic to have all 3 Liverpool supporters sitting side by side :p . I remember the lights of Putrajaya and KL just after taking off before were flew into darkness. The food served during the flight was good. I enjoyed it anyway (though I've read some comments from other people saying they hated the food) The thing that I remember most during the flight was the drunken old indian man in front of us. At first he was ordering glass after glass of wine. He soon started singing some songs in some unknown language and he was then mumbling to himself before falling asleep. When we were flying over the Indian Subcontinent, there was all darkness ; just a few patches of light here and there and all of a suddenly we were descending and TOUCH DOWN! BANGALORE!!
We were in INDIA already!!:) I could feel that everyone was excited as well. All the tears at KLIA seemed to have dried up by the time we reached Bangalore International Airport.

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Bangalore

The first think I noticed as soon as I landed was the different types of people here. (duhh..im in India ) Our luggage safely arrived and we were soon off to the hotel to stay for the night. Another great difference that I felt was the really cooling weather here in Bangalore. As soon as we stepped out of the airport, the cold wind greeted us. Of cause another thing you will notice soon after landing is the Honking here. For people first time here, it would seem as if they're honking for no reason whatsoever. But the honking is essential for their style of driving here .I would say they're organised on a disorganised way. O.o
The hotel was comfortable and I think I managed to catch about 5 hours of sleep. I was feeling really cold throughout the night of cause. I woke up at 6am (obviously because I wasn't used to the timezone here) . It was already getting bright at 6am and when I opened the hotel window, I just couldn't make out which was colder , the hotel room or outside. I saw lots of pictures of this hotel from my other friends who left earlier then us. The breakfast in the hotel was good.The thosai, poori, and naan was good. I was careful about the water though, I basically bought mineral water throughout the first week in India. I spend the morning looking out from the hotel room window getting excited when I see these colourful lorries with weird sounding horns. It was soon time to say goodbye to the Kolar and Karad group and we were off to Mysore! WHEEE:) The road from Bangalore to Mysore was good but of cause nothing like the highways in Malaysia. The traffic was slow. No one seems to go fast here. and Oh! how could I forget the first time when I saw an auto here . I think I was super excited that I nearly dropped my camera. How things have changed! I hate those yellow 3 wheelers now :)

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On the way to Mysore, we stopped over at Coffee Day (India's Starbucks) and had a hard time dividing the bill. Most of us brought Rs 500 notes and we weren't familiar with all the notes. We passed by Mcdonalds too on the way to Mysore . During that time, not excited to see it because they're everywhere in Malaysia and we were fresh from Malaysia. I do miss it abit now to be honest. Havent had it at all in India. I've tried KFC and it sucks! There seems to be a few spices missing in the chicken there. Weird but true especially since we're in the 'Land Of Spices'.

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Mysore
It took us 4 LONG hours by van to reach Mysore from Bangalore. Google Map said 2.5hours plus...never trust it! Anyway, we had lunch in some banana leaf restaurant. It was ok-ish la, but the banana leaf food back home is tastier. Then we headed to the college. On the way to college, we passed by the Mysore Palace side entrance( got really excited) and the St Philomena's Church ( the twin towers here). Finally...JSS MEDICAL COLLEGE. The first thing that came to my mind was Wow! This place is really green.! We met the vice principal and some other people and were served with some vegetarian sandwich that tasted quite nice at that time ( now bored of them already)
After the short meeting with the Big Shots of JSS, we went to get some stuff from a supermarket called More. We were not really sure what to get at that time because we haven't seen our house at that time. While paying at the counter, some people just cut the que . If it was in Malaysia, they would have been verbally slaughtered already, but not here. My Kiasuism kicked in and I didn't let anyone pass me by blocking the path with the ironing board and buckets.

After rushing through and buying stuff, we headed to our new home. It was an appartment in some kampung-ish area. We opened our apartment door and I think all our faces lit immediately. It was certainly better then we had expected. Much Much better then KTT's apartment.

That night, as we were walking from our house to Kalidasa Rd the whole area experienced a blackout. The first real blackout in INDIA! Many more ahead I suppose. We walked through the darkness in unknown territory and had to becareful not to step on any cow dung. As we maneuvered through the dark streets, we had to avoid passing vehicles too. The drivers of cars, lorries and buses were honking for no reason. It is annoying at first but everyone will get used to it after some time. We had our dinner in Casino Park (12.5 minutes walk from our apartment) and I ordered chicken kebab . Chicken kebabs at home will come out as chicken wrapped in bread/roti. Here, just some tandoori chicken looking dish. Anyway, it tasted good. Definitely waaay better than the ones in Malaysia . 3 months here, this place is now very familiar to me. I think I can even walk blind folded there.

Another thing we had difficulty in during the first few days was crossing the roads here in India. ( As I wrote the above sentence, 2 monkeys just entered my apartment!! LOL..SEE! LIKE I SAID, INDIA IS FULL OF SURPRISES !!
Anway, back to the traffic, well, the traffic here is really chaotic. Though people say Mysore is not so bad. I cant imagine how it is like in cities like Mumbai and Chennai. Bangalore is quite bad too. The vehicles seem to come from all directions and you need to becareful not to bump the into many animals and the PEOPLE. There are loads of people everywhere !!

Our first day in class was a real SHOCKER! The local students seemed really really smart and they answered all the questions when bombarded by the lecturers. It was like someone slapping you in the face. I always knew the Indian students were VERY good. But I was still extremely shocked by their ability to memorize stuff here. Sye akan lawan dan cuba utk mengalahkan diorng mulai skrang!

Anyway, I think I've gotten used to India already and I'm also starting to like this place. I'm too lazy to post any pictures here , you can just see them on my facebook page. I think I'll stop writing now, I've got to go and study. The main point of writing this is so that I don't forget all these in the future. I'll continue writing when I'm free.
P/S : Can't wait to go home during Xmas!!!

Till We Meet Again... =)

Boon Yao, Thesdave, Ilyas and Edmund...4 of my best friends from secondary school. Just had breakfast with Thesdave and Ilyas this morning.It was just a simple farewell for Dave for will be flying off to Indonesia tomorrow. Simple,quiet, not flamboyant and nice. Just the way I like it. Goodness knows when we can all meet up again.

Edmund's already gone far far away to Perlis and lets just hope our holidays coincide in the future. Boon Yao on the other hand was busy in Melaka, flying SOLO for the first time~!! WOOHOOO~!! Damn happy for you wei!

Anyways, just want to wish all of you the best of luck for the future. May Ilyas and Edmund be super awesome engineers in the near future, conquering their respective fields.

Boon Yao, I WANNA SEE YOU IN THE COCKPIT OF THIS 'BEAUTY' ONE DAY~!

...and Dave, we'll be completing our course at around the same time. May we work hard and stay fully focused till the end and achieve our dreams! Sorry I can't send you off at the airport tomorrow. 4.30am is freaking early! HAHA!

Ilyas and I with our awesome form 5 class teacher, Puan Haslina:)

The days when we only had 2 Mega Pixel cameras. HAHA.

Anyway, CHEERS! Till we meet again.

The Clock is Ticking....

Sending off those bound to MCODS last Wednesday made me realise that I have only a short time left in Malaysia. There is still 11 more days to my departure and I've completed about 90% of my packing already. Am I excited about leaving to India? You bet I am!

Seeing alot of my classmates already overseas and having completed at least the 1st year med school( some almost completing 2nd year already), the urge to continue studying has never been greater. The frustration of having wasted almost 8 months will no doubt add to my burning desire to start studying something I've always wanted to learn since I was in primary school.

Shawn's family with my parents

All the best Shawn! Maybe one day when I visit Manipal, we can play futsal again..with Selvan :)
Good luck to all of you~! =)

After reading alot about India on the internet and getting so much input about Mysore from my ever-helpful seniors, I am also mentally prepared to go there. I'll be going there with low expectations (so that I won't be disappointed) and anything that exceeds my expectations will be a bonus.

(Just in case any of you juniors stumble upon my blog in the future...)

There are so many things to do before leaving. I had to make sure I was vaccinated with Hep A and B , typhoid and I also took the H1N1 jab (doctor's advice). There are also so many little things that you have to buy before going to India so save up! The first 3 months in India will be tight as we will have to pay for so many different things ie accommodation, books etc. There will be alot of hidden costs as well so do save your money during your A Levels.

Packing is quite a headache. For those who do not have connecting flights from Bangalore Airport , I suggest you apply for the MAS Grads card from KL sentral. It enables you to carry 10 extra kgs. Those who don't have the card also shouldn't worry so much because MAS is very lenient with students. I know some people who got through with 29kgs!

My parents bought this 'Vacuum compressed bag' from Cosway which enables you to compress your clothes. It saves alot of space but of cause the weight remains the same.
I'll show you some pictures...

My clothes that have yet to be compressed

Before

After

So yeah, you can save about 50% of space by this method.

Alright then, off to rearrange my things. I'll write more when I'm in India. I have to see the place for myself :)