hashie's three beautiful things: 2012

So early in 2012 I acquired a smart phone of sorts – a lot of my life was depicted pictorially this year. With those and my statuses – as is tradition – I will review 2012; a year that reminds me of how truly blessed my life is. Here it goes again, in descending order:

Les Miserables!

At last, we see each other plain.

Jo's attempt to prove that Puchong (and her life at the moment) is HAPPENING YO!

Goodbye Phuket! Thanks for the parades, islands, canoeing, beaches, ladyboys, go-go dancers, bars, shopping, food and hospitality. It's been one heck of a trip! =)

Great beer, great music, great place, great friends at Bang La Road, Phuket! =)

A47 in Alexis

This is what we did on 12/12/12: we registered to become doctors.

What a wat! And congratulations to all our friends graduating today! Lots of love from Cambodia, H and J =)

Anyone have any advice on buying backpacking/trekking/hiking bags? I want to use them for 3-5 day trips via flights. Carry-on limit is 40L, beyond that I have to check in my luggage.

The happy couple going for their honeymoon cruise! (And my road trip now becomes an ocean voyage!)

Sailing the seven seas now, savvy? ;)

"My flat screen TV is bigger than your phone; and it's so much cheaper!" - my grandfather commenting on my iPhone #mygrandfatherisawesome

this remarkable person on my left is more than just a future doctor - she will go on to do amazing things. what an honour it is to be photographed by her side - an even bigger one to call her "friend".

Post Grad Road Tripping! (67 photos) - Because after you've went through 5 years with these bunch of misfits, you'll do anything to have one more day with them. A road trip seemed the best way to prolong our goodbyes!

Monash Malaysia Class of 2012. Watch out, world - here we come!

Hospital Kingsurf, Department of DoTA. The best damned lunatics I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Seated in the middle is Head of Department, flanked by his specialists, with the junior MOs, HOs and medical students bringing up the rear. Our grand ward rounds will become legend someday. ;)

I had the Time of My Life. Congratulations and thank you, class of 2012!

PCL D, 5 years later. ♥

Buying a suit is more stressful than resuscitating a collapsed patient. Sigh...

The last words of wisdom in Hospital Sultanah Aminah JB, where I spent 3 years maturing into a young doctor: "Always remember to be humble." Farewell for now, HSA. Thank you for your lessons.

this sentimental fool.

Happy (belated) Halloween! =)

Make phone call to girlfriend, she answers and says "I've got a headache; your voice annoys me right now." - I am so lucky to have her in my life... — with Joann Chua.

She knew what I wanted for my (long belated) birthday even though I told her not to get it. ♥

"20 years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did." - words of wisdom on a postcard from LL =)

The end of an epic posting with epic friends where we learnt everything - how to stage cervical cancer, how to 'off branullas', how to manage valvular heart disease - everything EXCEPT how to deliver babies lol ;)

"The ten commandments of Emergency Medicine" (Wrenn and Slovis, 1991)

"To all mothers whose hopes were wounded for some reason or other, and in spite of us." - dedication on a textbook of obstetrics

i am so freaking proud of the second string Y5 basketball team, Team I! Let me present them: I, the team captain who broke his toe; RM, the hardworking point guard; YQ, the lay up specialist; G, the tireless and ceaseless runner; A, the Lankan Wonder and Monsta; and S, the six-point stunner! You guys are awesome and it was an honour playing with you all!

If I ever get married, there will be posters at my wedding with the words: "This wedding is proud to announce that we serve NO sharks' fins! Say NO to shark's fin soup!"

A picture of me, the wannabe doctor, with an actual doctor! Thanks for being so supportive and inspiring - you've set the standard for Monash students way too high! All the best in Team A East 2!

The only thing that can unite arguing doctors is a portable x-ray machine.

Me with the two loveliest girls of the evening!

Slender: The Eight Pages - 1; H and J - 0.
(translation: we screamed like little girls when we were... startled by the Slender Man)

I hold these truths to be self-evident, that all housemen are created equal, that they are endowed by their Schools with certain inalienable skills, that among these are a regard for the sanctity of Life, Lifelong Learning and the pursuit of Competence.

Happy 49th, Malaysia.

I asked for the day off and I got it! =)

Hard work pays off - people will recognise goodness when they see it. I hope I have done Monash University Malaysia proud.

I should really be careful what I wish for - 5 laparotomies! Good night, world.

Too short a long weekend

"Don't worry, I think you're doing fine." =)

Hey I just met you, and this is crazy; you asked me to go on-call... Laparotomy maybe?

ambition.

Here we go, Gen Surg! First day of the rest of 6 weeks.

one of the most beautiful celebrations in Malaysia involves asking for forgiveness for any wrongs that may have been committed during the past year - something that we as non-Muslims should certainly absorb into our own psyche. Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all my Muslim friends; saya menyusun jari sepuluh memohon maaf zahir dan batin dan saya berjanji untuk mempertingkatkan lagi akhlak diriku. May you and your families be well and happy on this most joyous of celebrations!

Like if you think I should buy this hat! (on another note, it's good to be home, and annoying the sister)

till next time, A&E. i will return.

one of my favourite quotes from one of my favourite books from my all time favourite author: “There would be trouble later on. People would ask questions. But that was later on - for now, gloriously uncomplicated and wonderfully clean, and hopefully with never an end, under a clear sky, in a world untarnished... there was only the chase.”

Good times in the ED; the best rotation I've ever had!

Health Screening and Promotion at SK St Joseph in conjunction with CIC's Family Day; truly happy and honoured to have the opportunity to interpret basic BP, BMI and RBS readings as well as screen for psychiatric illnesses in the community via the DASS questionnaire. Our thanks to Dr S, Dr V and Dr Z as well as all the CSJB and Mental Health Association staff for this wonderful experience! (now I know what it feels like to "run" my own clinic sessions)

Epic DotA night was epic!

Anaes, you weren't one of my favourite postings, but thank you for giving me a glimpse of how the masters of lines, physiology and pharmacology tend to their patients. If I ever come back, at least I'll know what to aspire for - patient comfort and safety, always.

We've got Lankans and Aussies on your side too, Dato' Lee! We are all proud of you; a match well fought. Malaysia Boleh dan Majulah Sukan Untuk Negara!

Soupy's Passionate birthday dinner!

Finally, a day in Anaesthesiology where I don't feel like hanging myself with the IV tubing!

Durian induced delirium!

Monash Monsters invade Monsta Cafe for a double (?triple) birthday celebration with C, LY and ?S!

Happy birthday, Prof AS! Quick tell us the causes of unilateral/bilateral painless red eyes!

"Gentlemen, this is no humbug." - Dr John Warren, upon his successful demonstration of ether as an anaesthetic agent in 1846.

The apeks go out shopping!

Tonnes of food at Kin Wah =)

Smart tip from anaesthesiologists: To know how long a surgery is going to take - ask the surgeon for an estimate, then double that.

as Prof LCS once told me: avR is the 'Forgotten Lead'! Also with thanks to Prof CYC!

word of the day: "intemperate"

Sushi party at Indah Samu! ^_^

Anyone with any advice on good hospitals to start off in as HOs?

Rise.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.

Stopover in Melaka hehe =)

Fantastic day with 13 great speakers/performers who truly had some ideas worth spreading on 'Interdependence', from IT to culture to sun bears to the meaning of life. TEDxKL 2012!

Year 5s representing at TEDxKL 2012! Looking forward to broadening my horizons and having my mind blown!

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Case presentation to the eminent neurologist Prof L and the brilliant internist Prof S during their ward rounds

First (and most important) lesson in Emergency Medicine as given by a consultant: if a patient gets violent, run away!

Me: I'm gonna play a song from my phone.
J: IF YOU PLAY RAINBOW CONNECTION I WILL SLAP YOU.
Kermit The Frog: "...why are there so many songs about rainbows?"
I am with the perfect girl. ♥

"Being offended is a bit of a national pastime. We live in a world in which we're told that everyone is entitled to their opinion, you're cool as long as no one is getting hurt and everyone can be right no matter what. Until two people have different opinions, and then it becomes a battle of who is more right." - Ian Fortey, Cracked.com

important announcement: Emma Stone has made my list of girls to marry someday, following closely behind Keira Knightley and Emma Watson.

awesome moment of the day: turning on the old computer and discovering old pictures of family and friends.

it might not look that way, but the big conversations scare me.

anyone got any advice on which RSS feed reader I should get for an iPhone? Already got myself subscribed to Google Reader, I think all these choices syncs nicely with it... Feeddler RSS, Mobile RSS, Feedly, NewNewsWire, Byline (all free apps too, lol)

My two favourite girls with my favourite sin - at Penang Road

is back home and already missing Sri Lanka. What an mind-blowing experience!

I left my heart in Sri Lanka.

Consultant was about to send a seemingly asymptomatic patient home when first year med students picked up cervical lymph nodes. An FNAC and bronchoscopy later revealed a malignancy. #theimportanceofbasics

It's been five weeks since I last saw my favourite smile. ♥

Oh Derm... How I've missed you! ♥

This year is the only year that I'll admit my age. Thank you, to everyone from family to friends to seniors to tutors to acquaintances. You've made me the man I am today.

I can't get to sleep; I think about the implications, of-

"Do you remember, that one time, we tried to talk ourselves out of a speeding ticket?" :)

for the meeting of tomorrow.

Conclusion from the first day of electives in Sri Lanka: All Monash students will fail OSCEs here...... :(

Sri Lanka, babeh! =)

at this point in time, our country needs someone inherently good, noble, incorruptible, capable of getting the job done. we need... a Batman.

We're almost at 730 and celebrating with gumbo - she wouldn't have it any other way =)

hi everyone, i did not win the photo competition i joined. nonetheless, i still won in another sense - the support from you guys were so overwhelming and so touching! THANK YOU for your likes - YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. =)

it's very simple - all we want is a better country. =)

think of three things that you know to be true - then write it down.

Goodbye Australia! Thanks for the best bloody time of my life! "They say travelling broadens your mind; I reckon mine's so broad I can pull it out of my ears and knot it under my chin!"

Thank you, Kingston, for your lessons on a very simple but overlooked aspect of life - balance.

Clayton-West Gate Bridge-Torquay-Bell's Beach-Memorial Arch-Lorne-Teddy's Lookout-Marriner's Lookout-Apollo Bay-Gibson's Steps-12 Apostles-Warrnambool-Glenthompson-Halls Gap-The Pinnacles-Boroka Lookout-Mackenzie Falls-Lake Bellfield-Ararat-Ballarat-Clayton: The Great Southern Road Trip

Spending the night at Warrnambool!

they call it the 'The Long Goodbye.'

GREAT OCEAN ROAD ON EASTER FRIDAY (6th April). who's in? might spend the night in Port Campbell and drive up north to the Grampians on Easter Saturday.

if you are on the mailing list for Southern Health's iNews, scroll down to page 5! ;)

Go Rebels!!! - at the AAMI Park 's Melbourne Rebels vs Western Force

Ward rounds in Australia with my Nepalese registrar, Indian resident, Vietnamese intern and the two medical students from Singapore and Malaysia. Oh, don't forget the Chinese pharmacist!

Crusing down the Mornington Peninsula

I hope you had the happiest of birthdays, love! <3 font="font">

add me on draw something! hashie88 =)

my first pager - 52827 =)

I'm sorry, OHCM 7th Edition, for losing you. I miss you! Please come back to me! =(

Y5s... we're all going to graduate in Malaysia, right? *puppy dog eyes*

just another day and another movie premier down under, no big deal =P

those eyes; they don't play fair.

thank you, The Alfred, for reminding me that greatness comes from within.

INR: 9.1

you can't measure a dream.

"As someone who has no choice in the matter for my own life, take your girl everywhere you go! When she's far away, you'll wish you could take her with you - so when she's right there next to you, don't go without her." - quote from "the big man" and my AWWWW moment of the day

perhaps the true lesson i need to learn this year, amidst the discharge summaries and medication charts. have a truly happy V day. =)

"Our bodies are a temporary arrangement. But at its core, the business of medicine struggles against this basic fact." -Phillip Simmons

Currently at the Pride March, St Kilda where a guy just told that I'm gorgeous and he'd be interested if I wasn't straight! #immenselyflattered and #iknewiwashot

The highlight of my week - $4 pizzas and drinks with great company :)

I'll drink only skinny lattes from now on. All the best, and goodbye. :(

Sunny summer times at Frankston Beach! ♥

Australian Rotation 1 People! Who's up for Phillip Island next weekend (4 Feb)?

My registrar has to remind me everyday to go home. I'm either dead weight around here, or I'm addicted to this place. ^.^

"...this life will hit you - hard, in the face; wait for you to get back up just so it can kick you in the stomach; but getting the wind knocked out of you, is the only way to remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air."

first four minutes have become part of my personal philosophy of late.

How was everyone's first day??! :)

Our little reunion dinner at Petaling Street! First new year away from family for all of us Happy Dragon New Year, everyone!

Dr PF and his wife, C very kindly organised a 'Welcome to Australia' BBQ at Dandenong Ranges National Park! Juicy grilled sausages, lamb and burgers after a gruelling one hour hike with hengdai JY! Here we have the Alfred people, minus one who overslept...

A two hour bus-train-train-bus ride into the small town of Werribee, where the Werribee Open Range Zoo is located. Lions and zebras and kangaroos, oh my!

rotation 1: chock-a-block with excitement for Australia!

"Wo bu guan ni dong bu dong wo zai chang she me!" =)

any seniors know how to get to Alfred Hospital in Prahran from Monash Clayton? i've got no choice but to pay for travel in both Zones 1 and 2? That's almost $11 a day!

Selamat sampai!

until April, then.

"If someone were to pay you $0.10 for every kind word you ever spoke and collect $0.05 for every unkind word, would you be rich or poor?"

Han Sheng... Y U NO AS DREAMY AS LUCAS SCOTT *melts*

"You can be outstanding, if only you'd allow yourself to be so."

Hi there, guys.

I just wanted to get something off my chest, something that's been simmering on low heat for quite some time, and is now anxiously bubbling, threatening to spill over and scald all that is around.

I have been, for the past few days, extremely and deeply hurt, disappointed, frustrated, and angry.

Over the course of the past three years, I've been led to believe that I was a part of this amazing fellowship of like-minded people, friends, brothers. I was told that I was important, that I had a role to play in all of these - that I was of some significance. That I mattered. And of course this belief filled me up, gave me quite a bit of joy.

Over the past year, I've been teased with the notion that I may be able to contribute a little to this team. If nothing, then at least I would have been a part of it - a part of something great, something memorable, I was told. And it was never explicitly said so - "You're on the team!" - but I didn't mind. After all, I never showed up often enough; I wasn't the most talented of players. But still time and time again I came, I hung out with you guys in the belief that nothing mattered more than these connections that we had with each other.

And then there was that one message, that spoke of making the last play of this past 5 years a memorable one. It spoke of memories, and kinship, and of how I was liked, and how I might have a role in this craziness.

And then more voices spoke; of how we should have a team identity, of cheers and plays and strategies and jersey numbers. I was included, and part of this closed-off circle.

And then, the circle closed up without me in it - I was dropped without so much ceremony - just a quick apology, a few sheepish smiles, and then it was business as usual. An offer to join the "other team". An offer that they could spare "good players" so that the "other team" wouldn't be embarrassed. Offers that to this day stink of condescension and arrogance.

I struggled to understand this - but I guess I have no need to.

You see, through this, it has been made abundantly clear to me that I was never accorded any special place in this circle of friends. The memories that you spoke of cherishing and recording? - you wanted only for your group. A group that does not include me. In fact, even this apparent noble intention was twisted with avarice - do not deny to me that you are not in this to win, or to beat the other teams. Your so-called honour rides more on the brief, fleeting wings of victory than on the broken, dull, but tested hoofbeats of true friendship and fellowship.

So know this: I have thought that these memories were worth preserving and cherishing; but your actions reveal to me that you think nothing of casting them aside for the simple matter of prizes, ceremony, and victory.

In other words, you do not think of me as I for you.

And if that is the case, then there is no reason for me to hold such deep seated anger and grudge against you - after all, there is so little to care about!

I know now that my place in the circle was never in the centre - I was at the peripheries, always looking in.

And I am going to be alright with that.

Of course this does not change our friendship; friendships that I've cultivated and fought for over the years. But it does mark the second time in my life that I have been so deeply disappointed by people I cared so much for. I have said my peace. Perhaps now I may let go of this anger and move the fuck on.