Osim's iGallop

This is the most ridiculous exercising machine I've ever encountered. Every major mall I went, I see Osim's female promoter riding this stupid machine. I can't help it but everytime I see them in action, they reminded me of some scenes from my porn collection. Can you imagine what it would feel like if the seat comes with a vertical stick shaped like a penis attached to it?

I decided to give it a try.

It so happened that I didn't wear my underwear underneath my pants. After a few minutes of riding that stupid iGallop at highest speed setting, my brader got hard, and it became awkward to walk with my pointy crotch. Damn that stupid machine.

O.S.C.E.

The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (O.S.C.E.) is a performance-based exam. During the exam, medical students are observed and evaluated as they go through a series of stations where they interview, examine, and counsel real/simulated patients presenting with some type of problem.

Kok Fang examining a simulated patient (Siu Min).

An O.S.C.E. is:
• objective, because examiners use a checklist for evaluating the trainees;
• structured, because every candidate sees the same problem and performs the same tasks in the same time frame;
• clinical, because the tasks are representative of those faced in real clinical situations; and
• an examination.

Kok Fang palpating Siu Min's tummy. He was "pregnant".

What is the purpose of the O.S.C.E.?
• Provide feedback on performance
• Evaluate basic clinical skills
• Measure minimal competencies

This is Daniel. He has arcus senilis.

O.S.C.E. is part of our first professional exam, slotted into our third exam paper. Successful completion of the Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) is required in order to secure a pass. That being said, O.S.C.E. therefore is the most crucial part of our fnal exam.

Daniel's mouth being examined. He has halitosis too.

Failing the exam means we would have to repeat one whole semester for a duration and five months, and make our parents RM30,000.00 poorer. So what do we do to ensure ourselves at least a pass for our final exam?

Daniel's enlarged tonsils - the cause of his sleep apnoea syndrome.

We practice among ourselves during the study break, and the pictures here are what that is all about.

"Dr" Kok Fang is counselling a "pregnant mother"

We had a total of 16 O.S.C.E. stations for our exam; 8 long stations (10mins each) and 8 short stations (5mins each). Besides the majority local (internal) examiners, we also have external examiners coming from Hong Kong and Singapore, which makes the already scary O.S.C.E. much scarier.

"Dr" Kok Fang scolding a stubborn patient for not taking the prescribed tuberculosis medicine.

Daniel flirting with "Dr" Kok Fang - an ethical issue which is occasionally tested.

Daniel says: "My balls itch. Could you scratch 'em for me doc?"

Doc: "My pleasure!"

Related post:

• Countdown Timer
• Hooray
• Fcuked-ups of the day
• What to do when your future is in mist?

Dinner at Chili's

Today's the last exam day. We had 16 OSPE stations which took 4½ gruelling hours to finish. We headed home after a late lunch at 2pm for a nap, as everybody was as good as a piece of dead meat.

Then it was dinner time. The guys had wanted this for ages, a post-exam dinner at Chili's Bars & Grills. We went to the one in Mid Valley.

There were 5 of us, as the other 3 members chickened out last minute due to tomorrow's release of "borderline-viva results".

And finally the food came.

I had their Beef Ribs and Chicken with Corn & Rice.

Quek ordered the BBQ Ranch Burger. Thick slap of beef burger with bacons and fries.

Kok Fang had some sort of pasta with chicken shreds (what the...). Look at the way he gobbled up his pasta. We don't call him President for nothing. :-)

On the foreground is Daniel with his dunno-what-chicken with mashed potatoes. Siu Min is at the background. I think he had salmon steak (I had to chomp down on my beef ribs, I was hungry! I couldn't have cared less what they were having! Muahaha).

Lastly, a picture of us challenging each other for the free, refillable beverages. The winner was the bugger showing a "victory" hand sign on the left. He had 4 glasses of apple juice. I was the runner-up downing 2½ glasses of lemonade.

Related post:

• Where To Go?
• Dinner after the dreaded final exam...
  
• Hardcore A.S.S. Dinner
• Chili's @ Mid Valley (20.05.07)

Sabah Trip

Everything has been confirmed. Deposits have been paid, flight tickets collected, and accommodations secured. The date for my first Sabah trip (which include Mount Kinabalu climb, Padas River white water rafting, and a visit to Poring Hot Spring and Manukan Island) would be November 13-18.

And being an eager beaver as I always am, I've started shopping for my climbing gears the past few weeks. Shown on the left are a pair of gloves (RM49), a bloody expensive jacket (RM269), a ski-hat (RM39), cargo pants (RM150), a white LED headlight (RM15), an LED torch (RM10), and a pair of trekking boots (RM450).

Some fast facts:

• Mt. Kinabalu is famous the world over for being the highest mountain in SOuth East Asia - a vast jagged granite massif rising to 4,101m (13,455ft.).
• Padas River is situated in the interior of southern part of Kota Kinabalu that is only accessible by train (used since the late 19th century in Borneo). Basically, this trip gives 2 experience advantages: Excursion of class III to IV river, and a ride in an antique train in this new millennium. The adrenaline rush excursion covers a distance of 9 km of this rather muddy 200 km river that holds 7 exciting and tough rapids!

Stay tuned for the pics!

Hollywood's Infernal Affairs

The Departed

"The Departed" is Martin Scorsese's take on the Hong Kong production Infernal Affairs.
The Hollywood version has Matt Damon and Leonardo DaVinci DiCaprio reprising the roles of Hong Kong's Andy Lau and Tony Leung. Jack Nicholson plays Eric Tsang while Martin Sheen plays Anthony Wong. The cast sounded good! They should include a bald Chow Yunn Fatt as one of the villains too!

Synopsis:
Undercover cop Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) is assigned to bust the syndicate run by mob boss Costello (Jack Nicholson). Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a criminal who has infiltrated the police department as an informer. When the two are in danger of being exposed, each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Tagline:
Loyalty is a Lie.

Official website:
http://thedeparted.warnerbros.com/
Read more at IMBb.

Tentative release date in Malaysia:
October 5, 2006

The original movie poster:

Are you balding?

"Why do people bald, and why more men are affected compared to women?"

It is estimated that 50% of men develop "male pattern hair loss" (known medically as androgenetic alopecia) at some point in their lives. The main cause of balding involves the miniaturization of scalp hair follicles in site-specific areas.

So why some men have lush abundant locks while some start shedding in their 20's? Blame it on your gene. Male pattern hair loss is due to a genetic predisposition being translated by a hormonal mechanism. Current evidence indicates that dihydrotestosterone (DHT) (a hormone which is higher in males, the so-called "male hormone") is the culprit.

How do you grade the severity of your balding? Fret not. ҜαίخόρЋЯзпїα™ presents you the Hamilton-Norwood grading for androgenetic alopecia (AGA):

[Interpretation]
Mild: pattern I and II
Moderate: pattern IIa to IV
Severe: pattern IVa to VII

One example of the many popular personalities being plaqued by androgenetic alopecia is the famous blogger ShaolinTiger. He's Grade IV Grade IIIa!

Despite the many circulating myths, men suffering from AGA can be attractive too!

The onset of AGA may be any time after puberty and may be apparent by age 17 in normal Caucasian males and 25-30 years in normal Caucasian females.
In our Asian context, the prevalence of AGA in Chinese is less common than in Caucasians (phew!), milder and of later onset .
Japanese males for instance develop AGA 10 years later than Caucasoids and have 1.4 times less AGA in each decade of life.

Currently, the only pharmacological agents that are scientifically proven effective are oral Finasteride and Minoxidil sprays.

Examples of Minoxidil sprays available in the local market.

The setbacks of Minoxidil:
(1) It is expensive. A bottle costs RM 120-180, and lasts approxmately 1 ½ to 2 months.
(2) Need to apply twice per day: morning and night. Need discipline.
(3) Treatment duration is indefinite (lifelong). On stopping, all new hairs shed within 3-6 months.

The setbacks of oral Finasteride:
(1) Treatment duration is indefinite (lifelong). On stopping finasteride, the regrown hair persists, but the balding process resumes.
(2) Possible side effects, which are rare, include: ejaculation disorder; breast
tenderness and enlargement; hypersensitivity reactions including rash, pruritus, urticaria, and swelling of the lips and face; and testicular pain.

Who to see if you have AGA?
Be sure to consult your doc before starting any medications. Any competent family doctors are able to make the diagnosis. You may want to see a dermatologist if you're loaded. The treatments for now are essentially the same.

Females are affected too!

Fcuk-ups of the day

So how did my OSPE paper went? Here are the highlights:

(1) My first procedure station was a male catheterisation. I tore apart the latex gloves I'm supposed to wear. Ended up having a retarded glove for the rest of the station.

(2) In the same station, I injected 4ml of normal saline to inflate the catheter, and the balloon burst! Sister Khairuniza's pants was wet. I happy!

(3) And the most fcuktard shit I did in OSPE, I forgot to stick my ID sticker onto one of the answer papers. Macib*i...

Here's the fcuktart OSPE question of the century:

"Given is a packet of INTRAVAGINAL TABLET of Prostin-E2. Name three routes it can be administered."

And my answer was:
(1) intravaginally
(2) transvaginally
(3) endovaginally

I think I'm getting an A+ for this question.

My Super Ex-Girlfriend

This was released in Australia last month! Why isn't it in M'sia yet?
Watch the trailer here.
Hilarious.

How long surgeries work?

Lengthy surgeries - how do they work?

Clinical scenario:

A pair of conjoined 4-year-olds who were separated last Tuesday have been off ventilators for 24 hours, and they've opened their eyes. It took a team of surgeons in Hospital Tuanku Jaafar (previously Hospital Seremban) more than a day (28 hrs to be exact) to divide the twins, who shared a body up to the mid-torso. How can surgeons work for so many hours in a row?

The How:

They work in teams. A conjoined-twin operation can be broken down into many stages, like the initial incision, the work around the bones, separation of the blood vessels, and reconstructive plastic surgery. A different team of surgeons scrubs into the operating room for each stage, most of which take only a few hours to complete. That way, most of the surgeons don't end up working for more than four or five hours in a row.

He's not that fierce looking in person, that Dr. K.K.Lim

The lead surgeons try to stay involved for the duration. They'll stay in the operating room for as long as they can, with a couple of breaks for snacks and rest. A surgeon who specializes in long-haul surgeries told the ҜαίخόρЋЯзпїα™ that he stops for food and drink every seven hours or so. He normally drinks Nes-Lo ice or teh-o-ais limau, and chomp down on a few pieces of roti prata. But that's besides the point.
"It really is like a marathon," he said. "You've got to keep hydrated."

There's no sunken eyeballs - signs of dehydration.

When surgeons at the Hospital Tuanku Jaafar Children's Centre separated a pair of twins who were conjoined at the head, they had a live feed of the procedure on a video display in a room upstairs. That way doctors who weren't involved in a particular stage could scrub out for a while and watch the operation on TV.

For the Tuanku Jaafar conjoined-twin procedure, four surgeons operated at any one time, with one pair assigned to each twin. Nurses shifted into the procedure every few hours, with two assigned to each pair of surgeons. Having so many people at the table could get a little confusing, so nurses and surgeons who worked together wore the same color stripe on their surgical caps.

Can I Fight KennySia?

I started this blog on Aug 10, coz I was too bored studying for my final exam, and too lazy to blog in A.S.S. Blog coz it looked dreadful.

Back then, I was the one and only visitor:


Five days later (that's today), it looked like this:

Sarawak got, Australia got (that's probably my brader), but where's that upper left red dot? UK? Really got so happening meh my blog?

KennySia, u scared edy or not? I also quite fat one leh. I should go Hong Kong and take photos and post 'em in my blog. Hehehe...

Hooray!!!

First paper is over! It was TOUGH. Period.

Tuk Janggut sent me an SMS last nite giving me his last "piss" of advise:

"Dun take your own sweet time, or u'll end up fcukin urself after the exam for having not enough time!" He was damn right. Without that piece of advise, I'm a dead piece of fat pork.
-->> Janggut, ur fat slab of meat is coming as promised!

This is Tuk Janggut in his hey-days when he was still fat and round.

Anyway it's over so let's just fcuk it! Had a hearty dim sum lunch right after the dreadful 2 ½ hours writing shit. No picture of dim sum coz everybody busy eating dim sum and talking cock.

Got back and everybody talked big, say wanna go swimming. Couln't sleep coz chinese tea served at the dim sum place got caffeine.

Weighed myself. Look what exam had done to me! It was a freaking 3 KG increase! I'm turning into a fat biatch like KennySia! Muahahaha!

Two more papers to go. Tiu-nia-singh!!!

Countdown Timer

Wish me loads loads loads of luck!

Tuesday, Aug 15: S.A.Q. Paper




Thursday, Aug 17: O.S.P.E. Paper




Tuesday, Aug 22: O.S.C.E. Paper

MedikTV

Does anybody watch MedikTV? It's aired every Saturday evening on TV3 by this medical company known as KPJ Healthcare Bhd. Rach called me up and asked me to watch yesterday's episode featuring breast cancer biopsy.


I personally find it very educational, as it gives the public a glimpse of common diseases and their management and treatment procedures. I was actually impressed that they covered the psychological and social aspects of the patient too! This programme also features a very attractive host. The only downside is that it is in Malay language. They should air it in English to cater for non-Malay speaking viewers too!

A very comprehensive and "holistic" medical show. Highly recommended if you don't mind the Malay dialogues (with English subtitles).

The 8 IMU Outcomes

There you go, the eight IMU outcomes we are supposed to adhere strongly to in every seconds of our student life. The same eight bloody outcomes we're all gonna be tested on coming Tuesday.

(1) Application of Basic Science in the practice of Medicine
We learned most of our basic sciences during our first 2 years in medical school. Being in my 4th yr now, my basic sciences has dwindled to about 20%. Do u actually need to remember what malarial schizonts look like???

(2) Clinical skills
Am familiar with it, but nowhere expert. I missed lots of ward rounds thanks to my addiction to sleep.

(3) Communication skills
I'm good at talking craps. Stutter when engaged in serious talks.

(4) Family & Community issues in health care
WTF???

(5) Critical thinking and research
I was glad I finished my medical research, and I wouldn't wanna have anythin to do with any research again unless it warrants me a BMW M5 or a Merz SLR. The only time I think critically was when I'm playing DOTA, which I've quitted.

(6) Disease prevention & health provision
Eat less fat, exercise more. Be healthy ok!

(7) Professionalism, ethics, personal development
Medical insurance covers the first two. As for personal development, that depends on my salary.

(8) Self-directed life long learning
Does that warrant me a M5 and a SLR?

Notice the word "Caring Doctor" in the picture above? It doesn't say "Earning Big Bucks" or "Passing Your Medical Exams".
Is it a surprise that nobody gives two sh*ts bout it?

SAQ Paper Countdown

Hilton v.s. Rasah

Here's a glimpse of the KL Hilton "Grand-King Room" (whatever that means). Grand fluffy bed, with 40" plasma TV built into their expensive sound-proofed walls. Damn grand. Staring out the sexy window already give you the "Grand-King" feeling.

That's if you've got the cash. For me, I had to make do with this:

What? Equally satisfying wat! A normal king-sized bed, a FOURTEEN inch TV, a mosquito-netted window. Ahhh... so sexy.

So what if you've got the cash and can pose like this? I also can!

NO DIFFERENCE! WHy pay more? Rasah can fight Hilton hands-down anytime baybeh...

Quek conned KFC!

The title says it all.
A friend of mine by the name of Quek (his full name is Quektoris) ordered a zinger burger and a cheesy bbq meltz for dinner. He was given the zinger and was asked to wait for his cheesy bbq meltz.

After finishing his zinger, he damn tulan coz his cheesy meltz was nowhere in sight. He went complain to the chaboh at the counter,

"Niabeh, where's my zinger and cheesy shit I ordered? You wan me to wait until when? What kind of service is this? That keling over there came later than me oso finished his cheesy shit edy!!!"

... and went on accusing all the staffs for being incompetent. He kicked up a big fuss by yelling and calling names and smacking his arse on the floor.

To cut a long story short, he got his cheesy meltz in the end, plus a zinger the staff thought Quektoris haven't get. He enjoyed the zinger he conned happily without a slight remorse.

He then went on to thank one of the staff for being stupid enough to get conned by him. See how happy he was:

I'm sending a copy of this post to KFC Holdings (M'sia) Berhad. My objective is to get rewarded, maybe get a free zinger or a KFC Privilege card delivered to my house, just like what this fellow blogger got from McD. Read his story here and here.

Zhuan Kee "Tong Sui"

This is our regular haunt for tong sui and a variety of kueh and noodles. Aptly, we designated this place as "tong sui place".

Notice the dark tinted windows above the shop? We suspect it's an active brothel. There's also a clinic next door (called Klinik R*s*h), just in case you got scalded by the hot tong sui.

I had red bean soup with extra coconut milk. They also have bubur-chacha, barley-malt soup, etc. Their noodles are nothing to shout about. This is a bowl of laksa I had. RM5.50 with extra fried yong tau foo inside. Freakin oily!

A plate of kueh and red bean soup my manic friend asked me to shoot at:
There's also an old Chinese couple in their 60's at the back selling pork satay (satay babi). Damn shiok! Where else can u find satay babi in KL? This is my first encounter of such tasty and succulent satay babi. Unfortunately, they don't open daily.

This shop is located in Rasah Old Town. To get there, turn right after the Port Dickson toll, then turn left, go straight, turn right, go straight, straight summore, turn left, turn left again, and turn left one more time. The shop is on your left.