Chasing the dream...

Test

2011-03-02T18:02:00.001+02:00

Hello friends.. My laptop was soaked in water so I stopped blogging as my laptop is at the kedai baiki. Now.. I am using something else to blog with... And I am testing the app. Hope it works.

NEW

2009-09-03T22:11:00.001+02:00

I have created a new blog:

http://aniahazmi.blogspot.com

and I will continue from there.

Revision Class

2009-09-02T20:34:00.003+02:00

This morning, we didn't wake up for sahur because I slept without setting the alarm. I felt like crying when my husband woke me up, and we looked at the clock on the wall, it was already 5 am! It's the second time that we didn't sahur, but alhamdulillah it was ok. I gues it's because we didn't go out.

It's my fourth day today that I haven't been studying well. I had been bothered about a few things, so it was a bit challenging to focus. Today was definitely better. I looked around my room and realized that I needed to do some cleaning up, sweeping the floor and changed the bed linen. Creating a clean environment is very important. Clutters bring negative energy!

This Sunday, I start my revision class with Dr Sherif El Hawary! I cannot wait. I had been waiting for this class for about 2 months. The sad thing is that I haven't memorized the cardiology topics yet, so I am a bit unprepared. But I still have a few days to start memorizing. I wonder how the class will be. My classmate told me that he'll start at 10am... and I have no idea when it's going to end. I hope the class ends around Asr because I need to go home to cook for iftar. The Egyptians have no problem since they have their moms to cook for them! I wish I have a maid here... this is me talking when I feel lazy. But most times, I feel happy that it's just the two of us in the house as we get 100% privacy around the house EVERYWHERE!!!

Anyway, I am glad I came up with a formula for me to remain focus on studying. It helps me a lot!

Break big tasks into small chunks!

Neat!

2009-08-25T22:37:00.003+02:00

After 6 years

2009-08-23T11:49:00.003+02:00

Marriage is like fine wine, as it ages it gets better.

Yesterday marks our 6 years together as husband and wife. I cannot believe how time flies so fast, it doesn't feel like a long time ago when I was busy sending out invitation cards with my dad around KL, and busy with the fitting sessions for the wedding dresses, and getting things ready for the big day. I am so glad it's all over. I was so worried about how the day would turn out to be.. we kept on praying that it'll be a sunny day and not a wet rainy day. Alhamdulillah it was indeed a sunny day!

I remember when during our first few days of marriage, my husband's uncle (Ayah Jitt) and aunty (Mak Lah) came over to mama's house (mother-in-law)... my husband and Ayah Jitt had like a secret code, where they'd say "2 years..." I kept wondering what the 2 years meant.. could it be, after 2 years, he'd get bored of me? After 2 years, things are going to change..? My husband, being the "typical" him refused to tell me what was meant by the "2 years" that was said quite a few times during their visit. Finally he told me, mainly to calm me down because I told him, I had a bad feeling about it. He told that Ayah Jitt told him, in a marriage, usually it takes about 2 years to really understand each other, so if anything happens like quarrels over small things are just normal! So there's really nothing to worry about. Indeed it was true. As the days go by, we understood each other better and better. Again, syukur Alhamdulillah for all that.

We really believe that what's important in a marriage is what really happens behind closed doors. What's being portrayed to the public may not be the real thing. I'm not saying that people who show their happiness are faking it... that is not what I meant. But what I mean is, some people "pretend" to be this perfect couple (no quarrels and bla bla bla)... but in reality, they are not like that, and the next thing you hear is that they are divorced! This mostly happens among the celebs, of course! You can drool looking at how perfect their wedding are, and after a few years, it's all gone. I once heard in audio book, by Jack Canfield if I'm not mistaken:

"People plan for their wedding day, but not their marriage."

That made me think.. it is true. Couples nowadays plan for the best wedding gowns, the best caterers, the best hotels, the best flowers and so on... but have they planned for what's going to happen after their wedding day is over? I certainly didn't think or plan about it.. haha. I did get married at an early age, so I'm not going to be so hard on myself for that fact! Hehe. Anyway, what helped me get through in trying to understand my new roommate? Firstly, he's a very kind enough to tolerate my "tahpapeness"so that factor helped a lot. Besides that, we read a lot of books... my husband had always been a bookworm, so I supposed he really knew his around it.. but I read quite a few books in trying to understand "men" in general. My favourite is of course "Why men lie, why women cry" by Alan and Barbara Pease. I loved that book.. and another one is Idiot's guide to marriage.. we got this as a wedding gift from Mak's friend. What a thoughtful gift! It did come in handy.

Ok.. the summary of what I had learnt from the books I read:

1. Men have to be told what you want them to do. As a woman, I'd always expect my man to do what I want him to do without telling him! I am very sure it sounds very familiar to girls out there, right? When I watched the movie "The Breakup"... it was like deja vu during the part where Brook (Jennifer Aniston) wanted Vince Vaughn to want to wash the dishes instead of doing the dishes after being told to do so!!! Well, they certainly cannot read our mind. But if you ask for help, they will do it for you, it's just that they don't know "how" to help. This is not being a controlling freak ok... some people may get it wrong. You know how people find it wrong when a wife asks a man to help around the house. It may not work in the olden days, but it works in the present days. Especially when wives are working or studying, so help around the house is needed.

2. Give each other the benefit of the doubt. Let's face it, everyone have their bad days. So when one over reacts, just give him/her the benefit of the doubt. I'm a very sensitive person, so most of the time, I get upset over silly statements.... but after years, I totally get this whole thing. Most people don't mean what they say when they are tired, depressed, angry or in a bad mood.

Erm... what else.. I had a few in mind, but I cannot recall. But these are the two important ones I think. Oh yeah.. another one that my mom always ingatkan. What does LOVE stand for?

L - Listen
O - Overlook one's flaws/mistakes
V - Voice out how you feel
E - Effort

I always remind myself of the E (effort) part. A great marriage takes effort and things don't come easy. I used to think that it will just happen.. oh boy, was I wrong! For example, after a while, you can loose the sparks in a marriage, so you have to keep it going. Keep the love letters, or emails going. SMS each other nice messages, because if you stop all this, you will end up in a boring relationship.

Ok, I guess this is all for now. Before I end my entry, I want to make it clear that I am still learning the whole relationship/marriage thing. I am not saying that we have a perfect marriage, we are still learning just like any of us out there. May we last forever dunia and akhirat.

My husband waiting for me

2009-08-22T13:28:00.000+02:00

Kesian tunggu lama. Hehe. Sorry syg.

First Tarawih

2009-08-22T13:15:00.003+02:00

Alhamdulillah we got to solat tarawih for the first night of Ramadhan in al azhar mosque. It's our last Ramadhan here in Egypt and I just admit that I did feel sad just now. Right now, we're in GAD restaurant waiting for our foul and eggs. Haha. It's the last celebration before fasting tomorrow.

Ok.. so here is what we ordered:

The journey to the mosque took us about 30 minutes because of the traffic jam. The street was crowded full of people buying things fir the holy month. I just don't get it, it felt like malam raya on jalan TAR!

How to create good study habits for exams

2009-08-18T18:13:00.001+03:00

How to Create Good Study Habits for Exams

Taking exams can be a time for stress and anxiety if you have not studied during the year; you will find yourself cramming for each test and studying late into the night. With a little time management during the school year, you not only minimizestress at exam time, but maximize productivity and results!

[edit]Steps

Buy an extra notebook for each subject at the beginning of the year so that as you finish a chapter in class, you immediately write notes and summaries in that book. The classwork will still be fresh in your mind so at exam time you merely have to take the notebook home from school. Write down the key points you learned from each lesson onto a cue card. This helps your mind to retain the day's important facts. On the weekends look over the cue cards. Get your parents or friends to quiz you on them.
Learn how to make mind maps, cluster maps and other memory aids. Mind maps are graphical illustrations of a subject and a great memory tool to use, especially during exams.
As soon as you finish a topic take out a book from the library and read more information about the subject. Take notes to refer back to them before and at test time.
Don't do rough drafts for essays. Just do the good copy straight away, but thoroughly as well. In an exam situation you won't have time to write out a whole draft copy, so practice writing out good copies straight away.
Make a timetable for exam days by marking the dates on a calendar, so you can be prepared by the time the test comes around.
Make a list of your classes and the topics covered in class. As you study a topic, mark it in a way that is meaningful to you, to remind you which topics have already been studied.
Set aside a study time each day when you are not too tired, or too hungry. If you are going to study for a long time, remember to take a break in between.
Set up a study group. Study groups share notes, thoughts and ideas or how to solve or understand a particular problem. Be sure to honor the class rules on what work may or may not be done in groups.
Plan out 'trial' exams for yourself. All you have to do is redo one of your past tests or quizzes within a time limit. Get into the exam mode by clearing your work desk of everything except your paper and pen.
Get enough sleep at night. It's harder to concentrate when you got less than six hours of sleep the night before.
When choosing individual subjects to study, start with the least enjoyable or the most difficult subject. Master it, and you'll end up loving it. At the very least, you won't have to worry about putting it off until it's too late because you don't like it

[edit]Tips

Don't panic on test day. On the night before the exam, and in the morning of read through your notes a few times, then put them away.
Don't panic if you have not studied well. Just think over the question and you might remember something the teacher taught you. After all, you are studying things that men have discovered before without previous knowledge.
Eat a healthy breakfast that day, so you feel energized, but don't eat so much that you feel full. Something to consider is a study that says males do better on tests if they are slightly hungry, and females do better on tests if they are slightly full. Again, don't overdo it.
You gain less by studying for exams at the last minute. One way to think about it is to start studying for the next exam as soon as you get the material, don't wait until a week before the test to start.
If you suffer from exam stress then take a calming antidote, perhaps an herbal tea. Just don't overdose because it'll make you drowsy.
Don't stress out, it makes your mind work slower.
Have a balance in life, exams are simply a quick and lazy way to assess people. Don't panic, just study.
Develop a positive attitude towards exams. If you are well prepared you'll walk into the exam room thinking "WOW! I can't wait to prove myself to these examiners, I'm gonna Ace this test, just to show them." Negative attitude: " Oooh, I'm so nervous. I hate exams; what's the point? I really don't feel up to this."
Ever heard this? "Good luck with your exam!" This is false hope, you shouldn't need a pint of luck to help you succeed,and if you DO need good luck, then you obviously haven't prepared enough.
While some can be, most exams aren't really this big. Exams are really just large quizzes with a time limit. No big deal.
Do a work out during your breaks it helps you concentrate and focus you Mind.

[edit]Warnings

If you have not prepared yourself for the test, during the term, and before the test, do not expect a high mark!
Too much study can be as bad as not enough study because the mind shuts down when too much information is crammed into it.
Mind blanks are possibly the most frightening things to occur in an exam. They can happen in any subject, but you can overcome them. The only way to overcome mind blanks is to relax the brain from its hysterical state. In the exam room, close your eyes, breathe in for 5 seconds and let it release through the mouth automatically. Repeat this until you can feel the facts crawling back into your memory.
Don't try to learn a new chapter a day before the exam; instead, revise what you already know.

Study Leave

2009-08-14T08:46:00.003+03:00

Oh boy, it sure is challenging to keep myself motivated to study the proposed 13hours/day. Sometimes, silly thoughts across my mind comes, like, is it really worth it to study that many hours, haha. The answer is pretty obvious, it's totally worth it. I keep reaffirming myself that I have a long attention span, I can study for longer than 2 hours. The thing is, after 2 hours of endocrinology, breast surgery, nephrology, etc... I feel sleepy, then I start lying down in bed, trying to get some power nap, before doing that, I thought I'd check my email, then I get caught with catching up with friends and family who happened to be online at that moment... and the next thing I knew is that, it's past 2 hours already from my "power nap" break! My power nap break turned into my online session.

I have a made a few rules so that I don't get caught up in unnecessary activities like this such as:

1. Check my emails through my iPhone because the features on the phone is less, basically it will just open my mailbox. Why do I even bother to check my emails, right? The reason is that, I subscribe to Insight of the Day mails, so I look forward to the daily inspiring quotes. And the other reason is for the replies from my mom, she also inspires me with her kind motivating words. I always feel better after reading her emails.

2. No FACEBOOKING until 12pm! I read somewhere that do not surf the net too early during the day, the net will drain your morning energy, so you will waste too much time, hence leaving unfinished task at the end of the day.

3. Use the 5 minutes break between my 20 minutes block of studying to do quick housework instead of emailing/SMSing people. The reward is better... empty kitchen sink, clean carpet, well made bed, sparkling toilet, and folded laundry. I just do them bit by bit, it wont take 5 minutes actually. Before this, I used the time for replying emails, but I have discovered that it is actually a "trap".

There are more rules, but most of them are a bit personal!

Have a nice day everyone. We're going for a breakfast now. I am so hungry.

Our last lecture with Dr Sherif El Hawary

2009-07-23T18:54:00.008+03:00

Today was our last day of lectures with him. It was indeed a very sad moment, he dropped a tear right at the end. What a coincidence, it was his 48^th birthday… he looks too young to be 48! He concluded his lecture with a beautiful speech, a very touching speech and I learnt a loooott!

I jotted down a few things and I would love to share with my dearest friends. The way he studies really explains why he is where he is right now! Not a wonder at all.

1. One week holiday starting from 28 July until 3 August. No books at all, not even a glance!

2. Start by 4^th August 2009. Begin with the hardest topic.

3. Proposed studying timetable:

August: Medicine + Surgery
September: Medicine
October: Surgery

4. Duration of studying per day:

August-September: 10hours/day (when our faces changed, more of amazed like.. boleh ke???... he said, this leaves you with 14hours of “playing”… hehe..what more can we ask for, right??)
October: 14 hours/day
November: 16 hours/day!

.... and I thought the number of hours was going to get less and less! hehe..

5. Methods of studying:

Start from the weakest points. Self-confidence is very important... Dr Sherif said, do not feel intimidated by the weak point, it's just 5% of what you know, you have the other 95%.. so just feel good about that 95% of the topic which you understood well.
Repeat and repeat! For example, if you revise Chronic Renal Failure (CRF) for 10 minutes, the you do it 7 times, that means the topics has been studied for 70 minutes! And this is good for long-term memory... he said, it'll stick in your mind forever!
Study from top to bottom and bottom to top.... eg. Definition --> Treatment, and Treatment --> Definition... and memorize each sections by itself so that, if the questions in exam was about DDx of ____, you could still think of the DDx by itself without having to think of what came before and after the DDx in the book.
Relate the topics to one another... study them together. Lay out all the books together on the table, and do not study one topic without referring to the related topics. Eg. Diabetes Mellitus is multisystem disease, so there are many complications... one f them is CAD (coronary artery disease), here, open the cardiology book and read quickly about atherosclerosis.... and another complication is peripheral neuritis... open the neurology book and read about PN. Like he said, it wont take a second!

6. Exam tips:

Sleep at least 6 hours the night before the exams.
Written exam

Write the main headings clearly because the examiners do not have time to read properly, most of them are very busy with their work, so you do not want any points to be missed by the examiner.
How to divide your time? ---> look at how many marks the question is worth and divide your time according to it.. eg. if the question is 5 marks, then spend only 5 minutes on it. Practise answering questions quickly yet precisely.

Oral exam ---> DOA!!! Pray that you get a doctor yang mudah bagi marks.
On the day of the exam, drink juice. Most of us cannot eat breakfast properly from the GIT congestion that causes nausea and vomiting.. so juice is good for glucose.
And lastly... take a cold shower. It doesn't matter even in the winter, of course you will die from the cold shower, but death is not the main issue, it's the exams that matter!!! It helps you stay fresh. ---> I'm just quoting from him, ok.

So what should you do after the exams are over? --> Puasa until you get your results and doa continuously.

I loved it! It was a holistic approach and not even a single point missed.

Then... at 2.30pm, all of his students gathered at the university to take pictures with him. I felt sad, really sad. His lectures are the best part of my final year. I am so thankful to Allah that I had the chance to be his student, I feel very privileged.

Faaiqah, Dr Sherif and me!

and all the girls..

and all the boys...

- more pictures will be uploaded to my Facebook.

Primary Toxic Goitre

2009-07-13T19:30:00.003+03:00

We had our end-of-round exam for surgery today, and alhamdulillah it went very well for me.

Last night, after I finished going through the sheets and methods of examinations for the common cases, I had wished for a hernia case. It is easy to reach the full diagnosis for hernia, along with the treatment and I figured that the oral discussion wouldn't be that bad either. I prayed very hard so that I'd get a case of hernia... specifically, paraumbilical hernia!

Well, things changed this morning. I had asked Faaiqah to come earlier, around 7.30am so that we can do a quick discussion on how to examine and what to answer. I arrived quite early, there were only a few students there, around 3-4 of us... and there was an old man. He was the "manager" for the chronic patients that will come in today for the clinical surgery exam. So he was asking my friend, Shireen and Mona about what cases they'd want... there was supposed to be an abdominal case, but they voted off the abdominal case, and somehow, this "powerful manager" managed to get the patient off the list! Amazing, right? This is the benefit of studying in Egypt, hehehe.. Anyway, I was told there were 2 cases of goitre, hernia, varicose veins and ulnar nerve injury. I was a bit panicked when I knew there was a peripheral nerve injury case because I didn't focus on that topic that well. It's not my favorite actually, I don't enjoy memorizing the distributions of nerves, which nerve supplies which muscle and that kind of thing. Especially when it comes to the lumbricals, dorsal interosseii.. all the anatomy lot. Too detailed. To calm myself down, I just focused on what case I wanted.. I had a change of mind, not hernia, but I wanted goitre.

While waiting in the tutorial room, I told Iqbal and Faaiqah that I don't mind if I get any case but hope I'll be spared from ulnar nerve injury. Luckily both of them wanted the nerve case, so I told them that if I get the case, I'll pass it on to one of them. When the resident in charge asked if anyone wants goitre.. I quickly put my hand up and walked to the patient right away...

A male patient, 45-years old. He complained of protrusion of his eyeball since 10 years ago... to make it short, my initial diagnosis was toxic nodule. He said his eye signs were pseudo exophthalmos and he takes Indral and Carbimazole --> mind you, chronic patients can really speak about their history really well. When I palpated his thryoid gland, I could feel a nodule. BUT.... the drugs he is taking is not in line with my diagnosis. Where could I be wrong??? Anyway, the time was over before I could palpate his thyroid glands again. Next stop was the balcony (waiting for the viva part)... this is where the discussions between students go on... I asked my friend, who got the same case, he said it was a primary toxic goitre. It does make sense but then my patient said that his eye signs were false exophthalmos! But then, the patient told my friend that it was a true exophthalmos... I chose to believe that it was a true exophthalmos because he said "false" and maybe his vocabs was limited, maybe he just got the word from someone else who doesn't know what it means. This is why I don't like it when patients attempt to speak in English so that we, the students feel satisfied and pay them more! So I changed my diagnosis to Primary Toxic Goitre and the main line of treatment is medical treatment. It is an autoimmune condition.

I was assessed by Dr George. He was very nice indeed! He asked what my full diagnosis was... then.. he asked:

1. Why did I say that it was goitre.

2. Why did I say it was toxic.

because of his pulse, but his pulse was stable because he is taking Indral.

3. If he is not taking Indral, how would you expect the pulse would be like?

tachycardic and maybe arrythmic.

4. What type of arrhythmia?

(I really couldn't recall any type of arrhythmia associated with a thyroid disorder)... so I honestly answered, I cannot recall...

Then, the miracle happened, Dr George excused himself and talked to another doctor in front of him... so during their conversation, I remembered what Dr Wael Metwaly said about arrhythmia in thyrotoxicosis a few days ago.. All types of arrhythmia except for heart block!

so when Dr George came back, I said to him, "I just remembered, it can be any type of arrhythmia except for heart block." He said, "good." Fiuh!! what a relief, it must have been the warm prayers from my husband and parents. Alhamdulillah, and Thank you Allah for the help. No one else can help you in situations like this besides Allah, He is the only one who can make you forget or recall something.

5. What is the treatment for this case?

it is mainly managed medically, but in some cases, radio-iodine therapy is given for patients above 45 years old and surgically managed if the patient's condition failed to resolve by medical Tx or if there it recurs after resolved by Carbimazole.

Then, Dr George smiled and said that I was ready to go. I hope he gave high marks.

Overall, I was very satisfied with my exam today. I was a lot more calm compared to the previous exams, I changed my attitude towards exams. I focused on what I want rather than worrying and doubting whether I could answer or not... this was what I did before. I'd go to exams with cold sweaty hands and butterflies in my stomach! Hehe. Thank you Mak for the tips, it has helped me a lot!

Painful Facial

2009-07-05T22:55:00.004+03:00

After almost a year of not having facial, I decided to have one today. What made me decide?

1. my mom asked me,”niah, why is your face bijik2, tak gune facial set ke?” à I blamed it on the final year stress and the dry weather!

2. When I woke up this morning, I had a superficial black head, I tried to remove it myself this morning but it didn’t work, a very stubborn blackhead!

I made an appointment at the Nail Fashion Spa and Manicure in Citystars. I went alone! Hahaha.. I was so desperate for a treat, so I went right away. The facial was good, my therapist’s name was Rubbab… a very nice girl. Everything was really good except for the part when she started squeezing my blackheads! It was so painful… it was so painful up to the point where I literally stood up and told her stop and give me time to cry…. Hahaha… she was kind enough to gave me time to compose myself. Well, I didn’t cry that bad, I mean, I didn’t sob… but there were tears. Rubbab also said that my skin was dry so that made the process harder and she had to press my skin really hard so get the sebum out! I learnt my lesson…. Insyallah after this, I will make a point to have facial every month so that I wont “accumulate” blackheads…

I am sleepy now… I had 2 lovely juniors visiting me just now, Sakinah and Hamizah. It was nice to see friends… humans are social animals!

Summary of last week

2009-07-04T17:48:00.004+03:00

Last Thursday, my mom,dad and baby sister, Tiyah came to Egypt all the way from Malaysia. We hadn’t seen them for about 9 months. It was a great joy when we got to see their faces when we picked them up from the airport. I treasure the images of our smiles and laughters when we saw each other. What a wonderful moment!

Anyway, after all of us got home, we unpacked the bags (that was full of my stuff) and my parents slept. I chose to go to my andrology tutorial because I was worried my attendance! Hehe… I wasn’t feeling very well a few days before they arrived so I was absent for more than 4 days. Later that evening, my husband and I accompanied my mom to shop in citystars while tiyah and ayah decided to sleep at home, they couldn’t fight their jet lag. But it was still fun because I got to catch up with my mom. Oh boy, I really miss her now.

The whole week was filled with trips to Citystars and dinner outside. Their trip was short so we had to go out everyday… but it wasn’t that tiring as expected… maybe it was because I filled with joy.

I am so glad that my parents and tiyah came here, I know they are busy but they still made time for me because I am not going back this summer. I feel so motivated right now and I am very thankful for that! My dad and mom taught me a lot… and I shall use their tips of life lessons for my daily life. I am also happy and grateful for the many blessings Allah has given me… Alhamdulillah.

I have so much to write about but right now, I just woke up from sleep, so I am not fully awake.

mosquitoes

2009-06-20T16:37:00.001+03:00

I had surgery class this morning at 7am. While waiting for the taxi, there was a lorry blowing “asap” to kill the mosquitoes… I don’t know what that thing is called, but i remember that when I small, I used to be very scared of it… you know zaman2 denggi kan. When I got on the taxi, the driver was complaining how the smoke did nothing to the mosquitoes and how dangerous it was for the drivers because the smoke was really thick and he couldn’t see the road. I didn’t say much… lately I stopped being friendly to the taxi drivers. Not that I was really friendly before, but I would answer back the questions that they ask… typical questions like how I’ve been here, how old I am and some questions can be very silly like… why didn’t I marry an Egyptian… hahaha… my husband told me that it can be dangerous if I get too friendly because they can cast spells… I know it sounds silly but there were cases where a driver practised his black magic.

The endocrinology class was cancelled today, I was a bit frustrated because I was looking forward to the class. But on the bright side of it was that I could go to the Chinese stretch class at the gym. The stretching was good except for the fact that I didn’t feel very well after I came back, I don’t know why… and this is the reason why I am lying in bed, updating my blog. My throat feels funny and I have mild headache… and I am hungry but I don’t know what to eat, I lost my appetite. Isn’t it great? I wish I don’t have appetite all the time, hehehe... I look 3 months pregnant! Thanks to the rice that I’ve been eating everyday… and also the McD’s I’ve been ordering.

Ok.. I wanna eat now, there’s bihun that my husband bought.

2009-06-20T16:23:00.000+03:00

ECG

2009-06-19T18:03:00.001+03:00

my exercise book, take note of the quality! What's scary is that the ones in exams are of same quality... :(

Tribute to Hajar

2009-06-19T18:02:00.002+03:00

I woke up late this morning, it was expected because I slept late last night, trying to finish off my ECG exercises. After a few questions, I stopped because my brain couldn’t function anymore. It just amazes me how some people can stay up late to study until subuh! i am more of a morning person, I prefer to wake up early so that I begin my day earlier. But sometimes this routine doesn’t work for me, because I get very sleepy at class, especially during the days that I have classes until 5pm.

Anyway, this morning, my husband kept reminding me to read surah Al-Kahf, since it’s Friday. So I sat beside him and opened to Quran, and read it… then after a 2 pages, he opened his Quran, and started reading the same surah. What’s funny was, after a while, I noticed he was ahead of me! So I told him to read slowly because he might get the tajwids wrong… so he turned and said that he’s been reading the surah every week so insyallah he wont get it wrong… SHOW OFF!!! He is right though… so just now, I vowed to myself, I’ll read surah al-Kahf every week, insyallah. I am one hell of a competitive wife! (something silly: I even told him that I can run faster than him!)

Later, I slept for 10 minutes before the Friday prayers, woke up… continued practicing my ECG. Chatted with cousin, Hajar, who is smokin’ hot.. and she is the reason why I am updating my blog. (hope you are happy babe!). She’s currently waiting to start her pre-med school. I miss that phase of life where you are about to start something new… very eager to attend classes… trying out new stuff. Hajar, I pray that your enthusiasm remains, it’s very important!

On another note… a few weeks ago, I had been procrastinating my ECG exercises. Dr Ashraf Zaki is my clinical medicine lecturer, and each class, he will give us exercises of ECGs for us to complete and discuss them for the next class. We had about 16 hours of lecture on the basics of ECG and after that, it was time to practice diagnosing the ECGs. I was scared! What was I scared of? I was scared that I cannot diagnose them because when I attempted one of them, I got it wrong. And just because of that one mistake, I built a fear and decided not to face them at all. Until about 2 weeks ago, Dr Ashraf said, for those who keep getting it wrong, re-read the topics and insyallah you’ll get it. So that weekend, I spent the whole day revising what he taught… and Alhamdulillah, I managed to face my problem and overcame it. So the bottom line is, whenever you have challenges in life, just face it… you cannot sweep everything under that carpet wanting to hide it, because it feel appear back! I was glad I got the sense to face my challenge… and lucky I still have months before the exams, so insyallah I have sufficient time to know my common mistakes.

How I wish the ECG qualities are clear like this one!

Tomorrow I have classes with Dr Sherif El-Hawary… we’re learning endocrinology right now. His lectures are so amazing… he has an amazing ability to explain things that are tough, made it simple and insyallah it sticks in your mind forever. I feel very privileged to have great lecturers teaching me…

Good luck everyone!

(oh yeah… my lips are so dry that it’s beginning to bleed, yikes!)

Missing home

2009-05-31T19:26:00.002+03:00

Oh no! I feel so left out… I wish I was home having fun with my best friends! This is part of the sacrifice that I have to face. I am sure I’ll feel ok when I start going to classes again tomorrow… by tomorrow, I’d feel so lucky being here, studying in Egypt, surrounded by the intelligent professors. Hehe… words that should make me feel alright again!

This weekend only, 3 of my schoolmates got married. I am missing out so much on my friend’s weddings, not just friends, cousins also. By the time I get back, they’d be carrying babies already. Lucky we have the internet now, so still get to look at the photos of their happy moments! Anyway, all the best to the newly weds, enjoy being a newly wed while you can because you can never get back that experience again ever in your life!

Bunked off school

2009-05-21T14:12:00.001+03:00

It’s hot outside but I am enjoying my day… I decided to stay indoors today. By staying indoors I mean missing my morning class too.. hehe. It was so weird this morning, I woke up today and felt like staying home for the whole day and become a full time housewife for the day. I folded all my laundries, sorted my husband’s cupboard that supposed to be done weeks ago… and cooked lunch, a proper lunch! It felt nice… although I missed out MRI class this morning, but I knew I made the right decision. Sometimes, you have to listen your body, your physical needs and not just your mental needs. So today, I worked on my relationship pillar as well as my physical pillar! I hope you understand what I am talking about. In a simpler phrase, you loose some but you win some!

I renewed my gym membership yesterday. I paid for one year because it’s a better deal than paying for 3 months, then break for Ramadan… then continue for another 3 months. I hope I made a wise choice yesterday because I was worried about my discipline of going to the gym during the summers. I have to study this summer and what usually happens is that I waste time, then I realize that I need to study, then I will put my gym behind… result  loss of fitness… hahaha. But I believe this year, it’ll be different. I will use my time to well… i will!!! I will study and go to the gym as part of my “self-time”…

Ok.. need to continue studying for the neurology test next week. I really appreciate these small tests that come every now and then… these tests make me use my time wisely and I value time better!

My workout summary

2009-05-21T14:04:00.001+03:00

(sorry the picture is a bit blurry... I was still walking)

20 mins interval on the treadmill, I only burnt 135 calories that can be easily consumed within seconds by eating french fries... ahahahaha..

I have no idea

2009-04-26T18:13:00.000+03:00

I saw another amputated limb that was infected but this time it was
even worse. It was wet and had more pus. What's worse was that the
infection had spread to the groin crease so it looked as is the thigh
was going to fall off! Why am I blogging about gross stuff. I lost my
apetite for today. I'd consider it a blessing since I love eating!

Currently, I am in love with the Buddha Bar albumbof chill lounge
music... It's so peaceful and very relaxing. I'm just in the mood to
relax, definitely not at my peak of mood to study and do well... You
know that kind of mood, right? I just spent two hours talking to my
sister... Giggling most of the time.

Why do we have school tomorrow????I wish I can just sit at home and
spen my days at the gym.. Working out and attending stretching
classes. Why oh why... I always feel like this when I am home alone.
People always ask me how I manage to study despite being married and
all... I'd say that I study because my husband is a pushing factor for
me. He checks on me every once in a while, and if I'm wasting time,
he'd "berleter" irritatingly. But most of the time i get away with his
leteran. .. Hehe.

Ok. I'd better start doing somethin productive before regretting over
the time wasted before I go to sleep.

( I just posted this picture. It has nothing to do with my day today.
It was drawn by Lina. Awww.. She misses him)

First visit at the General Surgery OT

2009-04-18T14:43:00.002+02:00

I woke up with muscle cramps this morning. Around my calf. I thought
of two things:
1. Sciatica
2. Cramps from the cardio interval workout that I did before sleeping.

I asked my husband about the symptoms of sciatica, and he said that it'd be more severe than what I am feeling. That's a relief.

Anyway, I studied before going to the OT so that I can understand better when I see the procedures. I was hoping to see a hernial repair operation or a laparoscopic cholecystectomy... But didn't get the chance. However it was a beneficial trip to the OT! I got to see a synthetic AV fistula graft, undescended testis and a simple ganglion. I just found out that if we're skilled enough we can scrub in and assist the operation. Now... I have to find a way to the chance to scrub in. Dr Aiman, the resident was really nice and explained to us what he was doing.

After that. I went to Dr Sherif el Hawary's class only to find that the class is cancelled!!' but no worries because I have a list of surgery topics to read!

Sent from my iPhone and loving it!

Venous Ulcer

2009-03-29T18:28:00.001+02:00

Before I begin, let me tell you, I had a really fulfilling day today. I saw many surgery cases but the best one is the venous ulcer case that I saw at Dr Wael's clinical class. The young man had a venous ulcer it was big, I could even see the flesh. Lucky I sat at the back so I couldn't smell anything. The ulcer had purulent discharge, so that wouldn't be something that I would look forward to smelling. I still remember what my dad used to tell me, "kalau Niah nak jadi doctor, tak boleh nak geli2 macam ni, sebab nanti nanah patient pun kena bau." hahaha. That doesn't include the stool analysis and vomitus inspection! As a kid, I was always the kind of girl that adults get irritated with... you know the ones that is so "cerewet"... hehe. Sad to admit but true. I just pray that my children won't be like me. Thanks Mak Ayah for being patient with me!

What else happened today.. oh yeah.. my ECG class. Dr Ashraf explained about ECG findings of myocardial infarction and ischemia. In conclusion, I'd say that he's a really good cardiologist, a genius in fact. It's not just the depth of knowledge that I am amazed with, it's more of how he is able to explain everything but in a simple way.. in a way that it's easy for us to understand. I am so happy and grateful that I joined his class. I look forward to his next class, which is tomorrow.. most probably on arrhythmia. I cannot wait to get to the stage where I can spot diagnose an ECG strip!

Another thing that I look forward to is the next episode of Desperate Housewives. I hate it when they have the long break.. it wont be aired until 20th April... SPOILER ALERT: dah la Eddie is in a coma.

Why should I stretch?

2009-02-10T18:07:00.003+02:00

“Stretching is useful for both injury prevention and injury treatment. If done properly, stretching increases flexibility and this directly translates into reduced risk of injury. The reason is that a muscle/tendon group with a greater range of motion passively, will be less likely to experience tears when used actively. Stretching also is thought to improve recovery and may enhance athletic performance. The latter has not been fully agreed upon in the medical literature, but improved biomechanical efficiency has been suggested as an explanation. Additionally, increased flexibility of the neck, shoulders, and upper back may improve respiratory function.”

I was so glad to join the Chinese stretch class. Oh yeah, the timing was perfect, after my class, I had enough time to get ready and then go to have lunch. I ordered first and a few minutes after that, my husband, the birthday boy arrived. The lunch was good and I had to forget about the calories, I considered it as a treat for myself too after a week of daily exercises (well, almost daily!).

The weather was not so good today, it was very windy and full of dusts flying around. Alhamdulillah I stayed indoor so I wasn’t much affected by the bad weather.

I can’t believe that the holidays are almost over. I had to admit that I didn’t manage to reach my studying target… but looking on the bright side of it, Alhamdulillah I read quite a lot of topics. It was better than my last Raya Haji holidays where I only read one chapter! Haha… this time it’s better. I should just be grateful for what I had done rather than whine about the things I didn’t get to do. I had a great time going to group classes at the gym, hung out with friends (actually, just a friend, Husna), watched movies, spent time with my husband and of course, got my house in order. My laundry basket is empty! Great job, huh?

Well, bronchial asthma and bronchogenic carcinoma are “waiting” for me, hehe… then I will do the cases given by Dr Sherif Hawary. Can you believe how spoon fed we are by the doctor? He even set the timetable of what to study for each day during the holidays!!! There’s no excuse of not succeeding, right?

* I planned to put up pictures with this entry, and I promise, I'll come round to it soon, but certainly not now.

Silly Dilemma

2009-02-10T11:01:00.000+02:00

I’m in a stupid dilemma right now, hehe. I bet you’re wondering what it is.. well, today is my husband’s birthday. So we planned to have lunch at a Thai restaurant somewhere in Tahrir. The plan is to meet each other there, he’s coming from his class with the medical students, and I will come from my Chinese Stretching class at the gym. What’s the dilemma? I don’t know whether I should get ready (as in with make-up and all) before I go to the stretching class or get ready afterwards. Hehe.. it’s so silly, I know. But I don’t want him to wait for me too long. I don’t think I have the time to shower before lunch… I wish I have my sister to help me decide. This is me, I always find it hard to decide so small trivial non-beneficial things! Up until I decide, I will worry and start to feel palpitations.

I have decided… I will just go bare then after the class, I will quickly wash my face and “get ready”… and go. Hahaha…

Ok, it’s already 11am. The class begins at 12pm, and it’s for an hour and 30 minutes. It’s my first time so I don’t know what to expect. but surely, I know I will enjoy this class!

What happens when I feel like eating?

2009-02-05T19:53:00.003+02:00

I had a good lunch just now at Crepeaways, I had my usual fish and chips, except that this time, I took rice instead of the chips... both equally fattening. Right now, my tummy is too full, and yet, I feel too lazy to go to the gym until just now... it's true when they say accidents don't happen. Somehow, I clicked on my old friend's album, she's so slim and fit... with that picture, my energy to work out with Rehab boosted, rising high beyond the ceilings! Thank God for that... and I hope it remains till tomorrow!

Currently, I am reading a really interesting book called Happy for No Reason by Marci Shimoff. The author is a co-author for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, so you can imagine what type of issues she talks about. I am only one third through the book... so far, I am loving it. She makes it sound so possible to be happy.

Happiness is not an abstract emotion; it's a physiological state than can be measured and experienced more often in our everyday lives.

I like that part. I will surely share more once I finish the book. I would recommend for everyone to read it. She interviewed 100 happy people and found common habits among them. She said, it was difficult to find the 100 happy people... when she asks someone, "who do you think is the happiest person you know," most had to think for a long time before giving an answer.

I was about to have palpitations thinking about the chapter of valvular diseases that I am supposed to be reading and finished by now... I changed and flip switched my thoughts, hehe...

First day of the month

2009-02-01T18:30:00.002+02:00

Yeay! I'm officially on a 2-weeks holiday. I had my last class of chest medicine that lasted for 3 hours, then I joined my husband shopping in City Stars. Almost all the shops are on sale... MNG had quite a good deal. Speaking of MNG, I tried a top just now, and there was a big tear at the back. I noticed it as I tried it on, it was a big one, and I certainly knew that it wasn't me who did it because I didn't hear any tear. I didn't know what to do, I felt like telling the sales girl outside, then I thought, what if she thought I did it and will charge me for the damage... But I just told her, because I figured that if I was the one who did it, surely I'd be hiding, right? She just thanked me for telling and kept the top inside their store.

I have so many things on my mind right now. I've already planned my studying timetable as well as my gym schedule. I look forward to exercising tomorrow with Rehab, after weeks of rest. Frankly, I hate long breaks from working out, especially if I took time off more than a week because when I start again, it feels like I am starting from zero... I'd have muscle aches the day after the intense work out.

Last night, I watched Oprah (YEAY!!!)... one of her guest was the winner of The Biggest Looser, a reality show on loosing weight. Anyway, the winner fell of the wagon after the show ended... he put on half of the weight that he had lost during the show and felt embarassed with his failure in maintaining the weight... ever since, he's been hiding from the media. He felt ashamed of himself and that he didn't want to dissapoint his fans because lots of people were inspired by his weight loss. Loosing weight is easy, maintaining is the difficult part. It's so true.. it applies to me too! That is life, no pain no gain.

I heard from an audio book once (sorry because I can't recall the title), it's discipline that determines whether you are the CEO of a company or the janitor. You should never procrastinate whatever task you plan to do, especially the ones that bring you closer to your goal because you never know how many years of delay that will cost you in reaching your goal. I always keep that in mind, especially in the morning when I wake up. I always find myself in a battle of snoozing my alarm (and stay in bed) against waking up right away and begin my day early. Believe, it's very challenging especialy during the winters. Let's hope that I am disciplined enough to wake up at 5am every morning, even during the holidays!

I'm out of ideas right now...

Enjoyable evening

2009-01-29T06:31:00.003+02:00

It feels that the mid-year holiday has begun! To be honest, I still have classes today, and Saturday as well as Sunday. But today (thursday), I finish early, at about 2pm, so I usually consider my Thursdays as a holiday because it is relatively shorter than the other days. It may seem like the final year's schedules are tight, but honestly, I am enjoying every single moment of it. It gives me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day as I reflect back at my day, I feel like I had done so many good things in a day, no time wasted and of course, not too much time on Facebook. BUT, I must admit that there are days when I wish that I have no classes at all, thank God, those days are the minority ones.

Anyway, when I got home yesterday, I prepared dinner, then watched Oprah while eating dinner.. What a bliss! I've only watched 2 episodes of Oprah since I re-installed my cable TV again! Now, I just prefer to spend my evening lying in bed watching Family Guy on my iPod, and just allow myself to fall asleep. Last night was totally different... for once in a very long time, I didn't have to worry about tomorrow's lesson, and just relaxed, I even watched football with my husband... I watched him jumping as Beckham scored the first goal. He was screaming, luckily I wasn't sleeping at that time. I thought of watching the whole match, but fell asleep halfway through.. the next thing I knew was that my husband woke up and told me to sleep inside our bedroom. Hahahaha.. and here I am, waking up early blogging about what happened last night.

Oh yeah, this Friday, we're (my husband and I) are going to the book exhibition. I went a few nights ago, and it surprises me how things that made me go crazy before just don't attract me anymore! For example, I used to go crazy about the magazines that are sold for 1-5 LE like cosmopolitan, marie claire, US weekly and ELLE... that kind of things. I remember having to call my husband to come to me (as he is somewhere else enjoying his "shopping" trip) and help me with the load of those magazines. But that night, I just looked at them, none of them were interesting to me. I flicked through the magazines, the issues were still the same, so I guess, it's me who has changed? I just picked up a few magazines on fitness, mainly to boost my motivation on working out again at the gym. Why have I changed? I guess it's part of maturity... I prefer the word maturity than aging! hahaha.. As I mature, I tend to know exactly what I want in life and what are the important things. Alhamdulillah for that. It's a great blessing actually. It's not just with magazines... my shopping trips to City Stars have changed tremendously! Last year, when I go out with Lina, we'd come back with 5-6 shopping bags... up to the stage of where it feels too heavy to carry them home. But now, I'd come back with only 1 or 2 shopping bags. I guess my daily affirmation is working.. want to know what it is? haha.. well, daily and also before I go shopping, I'd say to myself, "I have everything that I need to live a comfortable life and I spend my money wisely." So far it's been working well, I do feel like I have enough already. Enough pants for the winter, enough jackets, enough tops, enough of everything! That is one part of my life that I feel relieved about because I was worried about turning into an irreversible and beyond repair shopaholic. It may sound nice, because you have so many things, but to me, it's a pathology! I hope my ability to hold myself against buying non-beneficial items will remain in me forever. I must be clear here, I am not being stingy, but more of think before I buy.

Ok, I have to get going. 2 more hours left before class starts and I have to get the house in order first before I leave. I hope neurology class will be fun today... and hope we learn about theories too, because so far, it's been about clinical examinations. Have a good holiday everyone!

Dry cough

2009-01-14T20:52:00.000+02:00

To judge is suicidal, to observe is winning.

I got this quote from an audio book that I had been listening to for the past 4 months. It sounds so true. Many of us judge people too often and most of the time, our judgment change after knowing the actual situation. Sometimes I wonder why people react in a certain way, I just don’t get it. For example, a person can be very bitter, and what makes it worse is when you had been really nice to him/her. Life experience has taught me a lot about why people act the way they do… a person’s reaction depends upon his/her exposure and input since childhood. People who suffer and had a hard life act differently from those who had been nurtured lovingly by their family. So basically, that person is not to be blamed… that’s what I like to think of when someone gives hurtful statements. What I am saying is, don’t give your full judgment about a person until you know what she or he had been through. It’s really unfair, right?

Moving on to something else, right now, my throat is really gatal, I wish I could stuff a straw down my throat to scratch the itchy parts. I drank a lot of warm water but still not working. Maybe I should rest. The last 2 days had been a bit packed but had been enjoyable. To be honest, I like it when my schedules are tight because I won’t waste time and treasure every single second that I have. I fold my laundries while watching TV… which is also the time I use to rest (the time that doesn’t involve reading books), I only spend like 20 minutes on the internet, then I right away off the computer... I sometimes wonder, what I did when I had hours of free time last year. Sometimes I miss those free hours, but I am happier to be where I am right now when my days are filled with meaningful stuff. I love the satisfaction that I feel after coming back from class. It’s a really good feeling.

I have no idea how to conclude my entry this time because none of the topics relate to one another!

Tag - 7 facts about me.

2008-12-10T19:49:00.003+02:00

Tagged by Naneen… Another thing that I’ve been putting off.. sorry naneen.. I’m really doing this for your sake you know, and right now, I duk serabut fikir, nak tag siapa pulak la lepas ni..

7 Facts About Me:

I’m the first child out of 3 siblings, I had a little brother who passed away in 2000, sudden death.
I got married at the age of 19 years old and my husband came to merisik the night before my maths paper for SPM!
I want to become an ophthalmologist, specifically, a refractive eye surgeon and VR (vitreo-retinal) surgeon.
When I was 10, my ambition was to become an astronaut!
I learnt to cook after I got married with the help of my husband.
Currently, I’m obsessed with listening to motivational audio books on my iPod.
I cut my sister’s hair when I was 5 while we were playing hairdressers.

7 unspectacular quirks of mine:

(It’s not easy to reveal your quirks publicly like this! It’s hard to even think of one, I should ask my husband I bet he can fill the whole page in seconds, hehe.)

I get moody when I’m being woken up from sleep because it’s hard for me to sleep back.
If I want something, I must get it no matter what.
I can play video games, whatever games as long as they are games... and I can stay up the whole night playing games, just like I did when I was addicted to The Sims 2. At that time, my husband will ask before he goes off to sleep, “niah nak tido ke tak malam ni?”… and most of the time, I’d answer, “tak kot!.” This is the reason why I didn’t buy X-Box.
I worry too much sometimes.
Every morning, I spend about 15 minutes deciding what to wear. Hahaha.. in the end, I still look silly.
I am too sensitive and easily hurt, and I can cry over small things… eg. When the food delivered to my house is not what I ordered!
I get carried away once I log on to Facebook, and spend hours browsing through people’s photos, and regret the whole thing before bed time.

Who do I want to tag next? I'll do that later ok, I'm so sorry but I feel tired already and I want to sleep.

Eat that frog

2008-12-10T19:01:00.002+02:00

Two days ago, my mom forwarded an interesting email. The subject was: Eat that frog! Here’s what I learnt from the email that changed my week…

“If the first thing you do in the morning is to eat a live frog,
Nothing worse can happen for the rest of the day!”

What is the live frog that you’re supposed to eat every morning? The “FROG” is the most difficult task that is on your things-to-do list, as you are likely to procrastinate that particular task, and this will drain your energy. Thinking about it, it does sound true. I’ve been procrastinating a lot of difficult task and I usually attend to the things that I like most… so can you imagine how many “frogs” I’ve been keeping??? I am glad I clicked on the link that was in that email because I changed… hopefully it’s a permanent change!

I straight away contacted my personal trainer (I haven’t been to the gym for 1 month!) and set a workout session with her, studied pericardial effusion and mopped the house! However, that still leaves me with 3-4 frogs… but it’s ok, at least I got rid of the other three, right?

Tomorrow, I intend to study for surgery and answer the questions on thyroid… I will do that first thing in the morning, and at 2pm I have another workout session with Rehab. She said that I gained some weight, but I took it positively, it’s a challenge for me to work harder. Believe or not, I ran 14 minutes just now!!! I obeyed all her instructions that included 15 minutes on the stairs machine. I hate that machine, it’s really tiring… and usually, I will stop after 5-6 minutes on it and beg Rehab to switch to a different program! I climbed 60 floors and burnt 120 calories on the stairs machine. I was on the cross-trainer for 30 minutes… the total calories burnt today was 470 calories! I thought twice about eating rice just now, but what can I do, I was starving, and hey… I need energy ok! I hope tomorrow I can concentrate on the upper body and more cardio!

Erm… what else happened today. Oh yeah, for the first in months, I had the luxury of time to sit in the Jacuzzi for 20 minutes…. Aww..what a bliss! I look forward to more Jacuzzis tomorrow… yeay!

Berita Harian Online - Article on my mom.

2008-11-20T14:57:00.000+02:00

Berita Harian Online

Freedom Writers

2008-11-15T23:32:00.001+02:00

I just finished watching the movie, Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey and a few other names, which I chose not to be bothered about. The movie was really inspirational. I recommend everyone to watch the movie, surely after watching it, you’d feel like doing something big, just like the main character, Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank). It is based on a true story about an English teacher who changed the lives of her whole class by giving them hope and making them feel important.

Anyway, I’ve had a very long day. I had the internal medicine extra class that ended at 6.30pm. It was already dark outside by the time we finished, but Alhamdulillah all of us reached home safely. There was a small test held by Dr Sherif Hawary, where he’d ask some of us (considered the “lucky” ones) and we’d have to answer 100% according to the book. Quoting from what he said, “If there are 10 causes, I want you to answer all the 10 causes, not 8 or 9.” Neither one of us (the Malays girls) were asked to day. I was quite disappointed because I had spent so much time on memorizing the facts for this test, but it’s ok. Looking on the bright side of it, I get to revise the important things that will aid me in understanding the upcoming chapters of cardiology.

Tomorrow, I have an early class at 7am, surgery class with Dr Wael Metwaly. I love his classes because for the first time, I actually felt like anatomy is not that bad. Well maybe it’s because we are not fed with anatomy in big doses, unlike during the pre-clinical days! I really enjoy being in the final year because all the “gaps” of knowledge and understanding are being filled… finally! Before this, we’d always get the answers, “you’ll learn about it later in the 6th year”… all I can say is that medicine is really beautiful! I feel so glad to be part of the field and I must really make use the opportunity to the maximum!

Wow… the sedatives in my anti-flu drug is really working. I can barely think! Really need to sleep.

City Stars

2008-11-01T07:12:00.002+02:00

Last Thursday, I went out with my 2 girlfriends to City Stars Shopping Centre. It was our first shopping trip together since we got back, it meant something to me, so that’s why I had to grab Faaiqah along, if not it wouldn’t be complete. Usually I go there with Lina only, since she can stand the hours of non-stop walking, from one shop to another. (Honestly, sometimes I don’t know who should thank who, hehe. Maybe Lina should thank me too!)

We had lunch at Chili’s. I had my routine Salmon and rice. Our tummies were too full for dessert, so didn’t take any. But right now, I regret for not having the chocolate cake with ice cream. Lina, if you are reading this, when we have time, we should make a trip to eat the desserts only ok… because through experience, we’ve never made it for dessert.

As usual, we walked around, looking for stuffs. I planned to buy the small laptop EEE Asus, but the memory is too small, only 4GB! So I’ll buy it some other time when the ones with a bigger memory come to Egypt.

At the end of the day, I felt like I had a fulfilling day. I got what I wanted, since a long time. And now, I feel like life is back on track, hahaha. Actually, I was going to blog about something else, but the idea just flew, because as I was writing, I uploaded pictures on Facebook. You can see clearly that in life, you have to be focused, or you’ll end up with nothing…. Right???? Next time I’ll stay focused when I’m writing an entry, hehehe…..

6th year

2008-10-24T05:41:00.001+02:00

Alhamdulillah, I’m in my final year now. Insyallah I have one more year to go. Although the thoughts of ending my studies make me happy, I still feel sad thinking of the fact that I will leave Egypt. No matter how disorganized or dusty Egypt is, this place will always be in my heart. I lived a memorable life here for the past 5 years and I learnt a lot from the Egyptians. So what have I learnt from them? Here are some of them (a very small portion):

1. They’re always laughing. It’s so amazing to see how they can still be happy despite the fact that they are financially tight. They can hold simple weddings, no big hotels, no wide variety of food, and yet, they have fun.
2. They are hardworking, very hardworking. Especially the people at my university. They learn things by heart and they don’t choose use the excuse of their poor English to be the reason for not achieving good grades, hence, they just memorize everything!
3. They are nice to foreigners! Ok, some may not agree, but to me, the Egyptians are nice us. They have respect for us. Our own people don’t even treat us like this, right? Well, I do encounter the Egyptians that are not nice to me, but they are of the minorities.

I can make the list longer, but I feel like moving on to another topic, haha. Yesterday, I went out with Lina. We were looking at this small laptop; Eee Asus 7-inch (it’s a size of small notebook)! It can fit into any of my handbags, so I don’t need to buy laptop bags. I feel like I need a change of laptop, but right now, I am trying to think thoroughly, do really need a new laptop? While I keep questioning myself on this, the image of the laptop is always on my mind. Hahahaha..

Ramadhan in Malaysia

2008-09-15T03:17:00.000+02:00

Oh my God… I almost forgot about the existence of this blog. Sure some might be wondering, what made me update my blog. I’ve been wanting to update, but I was a bit busy, since I’m Malaysia right now, so my daily activities had been filled with spending time with my family. I am so glad we made the decision to go back for Ramadhan. We had so much fun having iftar with our family and we definitely look forward to celebrating raya. The memorable moments will be our source of motivation when we get back to Cairo. Strangely, I am not worried about returning back! Usually, by now, I’d be sad from the thought of having to go back to the old routine.

At the moment, I am in my mom’s office in Prince Court Medical Centre (PCMC). It’s the first day for her to perform the LASIK surgery and she asked me to come along since she’s leaving very early and no one will be around at her office. After sahur, I took a shower right away and got ready. I know that if I sleep back I’d be too lazy to follow her… hahaha.. and now, she’s off to do the surgery and I’m in her office, wondering what to do. :P in about an hour, my husband will come. I cannot wait to see him, I hadn’t seen him in two days because we went our ‘separate ways’ for this trip. We only have a month and we agreed that I’ll stay at my parents and he will stay at Mama’s place. But of course we move back and forth from Gombak to Kajang. And tonight, I will sleep at Mama’s place. We’ll lepak at the Old Town White Coffee again… urgh.. thoughts of the iced coffee makes me thirsty!

I’m so grateful that I am able to control my appetite! That is one big thing to be grateful for because it’s not easy being back in Malaysia and not wanting to try out every food they have here. Somehow when I taste the food, I don’t find them that tasty… not as I used to last year. I guess the tastiness of the food had been masked by my constant thoughts on calories. However, I eat more when I am at home! Oh yeah, I haven’t gone to the gym yet, my dad wouldn’t allow me because he doesn’t think it’s healthy to workout when I am fasting. Although I told him I had done it when I’m in Cairo, he’s still not convinced! But it’s ok, at least I get to stay home and settle the laundries. Our maid went back early Ramadhan because she got a grandchild and my mom suggested for her to stay and look after for her first granddaughter.

Ok.. have to stop. My dad is here!!!

Tell Her Today

2008-07-09T14:21:00.000+03:00

I LOVE this song!!!

The “pretending” game

2008-05-22T20:09:00.004+03:00

Thank God Manchester United won. After the Chelsea’s goal, my husband’s hands were cold, he was worried in case they loose! What did I do? I just ate and ate… I couldn’t read because it was too dark and I felt exhausted too. We ordered shrimps, sesame chicken strips and mocha mud pie… the mud pie was scrumptious but I couldn’t finish it since it was too sweet. Back to the game, I tried keeping up to be interested with what was going on, but my attention span was very bad last night. I couldn’t concentrate anymore, in the end I put on my headphone, listened to songs and rest my head on my husband’s shoulder, trying to get some sleep! Obviously I didn’t sleep, but it was nice listening to the instrumental music while enjoying the view of the Nile at night. We stayed till the end of the match. During the penalty round, I was back on track, some how, in my heart, I hoped for Manchester United to win. Luckily they did! We came back at 1am last night. That hasn’t happened in many years. No matter how bored I was, I had fun.

We woke up late, later than usual of course. Then at 10.30am, I had to meet my mum’s friends from Malaysia. Two ophthalmologists from Kedah and Kelantan, they came here to train for the investigative techniques in ophthalmology (OCT) with Dr Zeinab and Dr El-Sada, both my lecturers during my ophthalmology round. Anyway, I took them out shopping and had lunch at GAD. Sadly my husband couldn’t come with us. Then, the minute I got home, I had to get ready to have lunch with Dr Yahia. It’s been so long since we last saw him… he was quite upset with me because I hadn’t called him and remained silent for months! It’s not that we’ve forgotten him, but I feel so segan (couldn’t think of an English word for that) to call him since he’s a very busy man. I learnt my lesson… just give him a call once in a while, to let him know the we still exist… hehe. We went to La Casetta in Maadi… I haven’t been to the restaurant but I’ve tasted the food, Lina ordered for me years ago when I went to her house. The food was really tasteful! I just realized that I spent my whole day today with ophthalmologists! Hehe… I so cannot wait to become one. But in order to do that, I have to work hard! Get that lazy mind working right now Aniah!!!

I got lots of tips from Dr Yahia. Ooo.. Before I forget, he published his first book on the Phacoemulsification technique based on his own clinical experience. He gave a few for me to pass on to my mum… he’s such a genius. All the images in there were his own, not copied from other sources… it took him a year to finish the book. And… he happens to know Dr Mahmoud Salem’s family very well; he’s a good friend of Dr Mahmoud’s brother!

I asked him on tips of how to answer in the exams. He said, as an examiner, it would be refreshing to read answers based on the student’s own mind. The students should “personalize” the case… and answer as if the patient is his/her patient, not based on what’s in the book. He said that it will be easier to remember rather than memorizing what’s in the book. According to him, once we practice, we don’t get patients who come telling us the exact symptoms like what’s in the book, they come with various symptoms and some of them are very vague… it wont lead us to the diagnosis right away. That is why we have to study and answer smartly. He also said that we should always remember the important things, for example in the exam, we are asked to mention the 12 cause of whatever disease. No matter how many causes we write down, the crucial thing is that we write the important ones first and never leave them out… because even if we manage to write the 12 causes but we miss out the 3 important ones, we will not get the full mark. So he said it is very important to know the important points. He said, in medicine, it doesn’t matter how much you write in the exams, it’s what you write that’s important… the same applies for the viva exams.

Anyway, I have to get going now. As soon as I got home just now, I read Lina’s reply, she was very sad to leave her son, I can really understand how sad she feels... let’s all pray that Allah gives her strength to cope with her son being away from her for some time… Good luck Lina, I really look forward to seeing you this weekend!

Myths

2008-05-21T21:41:00.002+03:00

“Doctor Mesir suka operate, tak macam Malaysia. Sikit-sikit nak bedah dekat sini.”

Ever heard of such myth? I don’t know how some people get this kind of belief, but it somehow irritates me when I hear it because most of them just don’t understand what the situation is like. I mean, surgeons don’t simply operate when they feel like it. I’ve even heard someone say that Egyptian doctors like to operate so that they can charge you more!!! WTH…???

To me, the reason why Malaysian doctors would prefer to go for conservative treatment (eg. Physiotherapy) is because we lack the experience and skills. It’s even admitted by them. They are not to blamed since we don’t have enough physicians in Malaysia so most of them have to concentrate on clinical practice rather than obtain skills outside. They do further their studies outside, but not like the Egyptians.

For example, my husband’s case of PID (Prolapsed intervertbral disc), we went for physiotherapy for almost 3 months, but the progress was very slow indeed, in fact it felt as if there was no improvement at all. The orthopedic surgeon said that he would always avoid surgery as the procedure takes 3-7 hours and the recovery period in the hospital is for 2 weeks. Hearing that, we just kept praying that my husband’s condition will not get any worse since the prognosis of his condition didn’t sound very good at that time. So he relied on Arcoxia daily (the strongest painkiller) to relieve his pain, without it, the spasm on his right leg would be too painful for him to bear. To be honest, it was hard coping but I had to be strong for my husband, Alhamdulillah I had my family as well as my in-laws supporting the both of us all the time. Actually, it didn’t feel like a burden at that time, but when I reflect back, it kind of felt like a big achievement to have through it well. Thinking about it makes me sad actually because I couldn’t imagine in what pain my husband was in. Anyway, back to what I was saying… as soon as we got back to Cairo, we went to see a neurosurgeon here, named Professor Ibrahim Lutfy. He’s a professor in Cairo University, the orthopedic department. When he saw the MRI, he straight away suggested a surgery, it’s called microdiscectomy. Being Egyptian, he didn’t explain further about what he will do, he did explain but it was too brief for us to actually understand. What I could remember was that he said it’s just a small procedure, 25 minutes only! My husband asked him, “which one is more risky, a hernia operation or the microdiscectomy operation?” he answered, “microdiscectomy is way easier!.” I was pretty convinced but then the decision depends on my husband since he’s the one who will face it. I was worried about the complications, but Prof. Ibrahim said that there is no risk of complications since my husband’s general health is good and that 7000 people had gone through this surgery… he added that he is not the only surgeon who could do this operation. We were lucky at that time because my brother-in-law, my husband’s eldest brother (abang Ammar) was in Cairo, because he accompanied my husband on the flight back to Egypt. In case anybody is lost with what happened, I came back to Egypt a week earlier with my dad because the new round was about to begin. Moving on… Abang Ammar advised my husband to go on with the operation. We googled all night about the surgery and all the testimonials were good. Finally he agreed. Although he agreed, I was always worried in case something goes wrong, but prayers and belief that Allah will give the best for him made me calm again. The hard part was that I had to mask my feeling worry with supportive words so that he wouldn’t feel worried. Alhamdulillah everything went well. When everything was over, my husband was glad he went on with the operation because he no longer felt the extensive spasm in his thigh and calf muscles.

What I am trying to say is… it’s not that Egyptians simply operate on any patients. They only operate when the patient is indicated to be operated. So we have to stop believing the silly myths that make us scared to seek for treatment here.

I have a lot on my mind regarding this topic but sadly I don’t have the time. We’re going to TGI Fridays (for drinks only, no more steaks) to watch the match Chelsea vs. Manchester United… which I totally don’t care about. I’m just going to keep my husband company. So tonight, it’s the pretending game… pretending to be interested when the truth is… I have no idea what’s going on. Does this situation ring a bell to any girls out there???

Cookies

2008-05-19T19:45:00.003+03:00

I'm craving for cookies right now, and I am waiting for my Famous Amos cookies supply from Lina. I cannot wait for her be here, finally after months of missing a best friend.. she's back!!! I've already made plans on what to do...

Back to the cookies, how the hell did I suddenly crave for the cookies???.. Lina sent an MMS of the cookies on her books. She was eating them while studying... haha. So now, I want them too.

urgh.. malas pulak nak type. I've been chatting with my cousin Dya for almost 2 hours, so my hands are aching....

(I'm so in love with this Mary Jane by ALDO)

Homer!

2008-05-15T09:47:00.001+03:00

As I am typing this entry, I am watching The Simpsons! I can’t believe how long they’ve been airing on TV, it’s the longest TV show running, more than a decade! The episodes are not continuous and related to one another, so it’s ok to miss an episode. There was one episode where Homer tried to make it rich for his family, but it didn’t work, obviously I wish it worked… so I told Lina about my disappointment, then she said to that The Simpsons will forever be like that, Homer will remain stupid… and they will never make it rich… hahahaha.. Thanks to Lina, I realize the whole point of the show! Hahaha.

I can’t believe I’m blogging about the Simpsons! Anyway, no matter how stupid Homer is, I like him the best!

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-11T07:45:00.006+03:00

I felt really tired this morning when I woke up, I felt like I didn’t want to leave the bed and sleep in all day. I certainly cannot do that since I have to study… so I checked my email right away. 1 new email from my dearest best friend, Lina! Her email has touched my heart so much that I cried after reading this particular paragraph.

"U told me once ur mom ckp she wants the best for u.. I totally understand her. Niah, u can never totally understand what she meant until u become one of this mommy thing.. but I’m sure u understand it better than me before giving birth!! hahah. Now that I’ve my own baby, I'll never lawan my mom again. I'll try to remember that forever. hehe."

What she wrote made me realize how a much a mother loves her child… it’s endless and what’s more is that she expects nothing in return, whatever she does is all out of love. But that’s the thing… us, kids, as we grow up, sometimes we feel like we always know what we’re doing especially during the teenage days. When I was in school, there were many things my parents stopped us from doing, one of them was they never allowed us (me and my sister, Tiyah) to go on the public transport. I never understood why, because during those days, we felt like it was a burden for them to send us to whenever we needed to go. My peers were out with friends, hanging out at the mall… I never got to do that, they just wont allow us to do that! My mum’s reason was that anybody can approach us while we’re out on the bus or at the mall… and at that age, we were naïve, hence anybody can contaminate our minds into thinking the wrong way about many things. At first, it was hard to accept and going out with friends had always been something I dreamt of, it seemed like total freedom for me in those days. But later, we both got used to it, and felt that it was “cooler” to hang out with your parents during the weekends, hahahaha… we did actually do that. On the non-busy-no-wedding weekends, they’d take us to Suria KLCC and shop and eat together. I really miss those days!

Alhamdulillah, after we left school, things changed. We finally could go out on our own, which is after we got our driving license. Anyway, I remember a few years back I thanked my parents so much for bringing us up the way they did and that they were the best parents. I really did feel thankful for what Allah has blessed me with. Oh yeah… there were countless times where my mum would say to me, “now you don’t understand but when you’re older, you’ll thank me for this…” and she was so so right. I did thank her for many things.

Well, I just want to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers, aunties, sisters and all the women. It is not easy bringing up a child. I wish that both my mum and my mother-in-law are here so we could celebrate together.

Before that, I would like to quote from this poetry book my mum gave me, it’s a collection of good poems from mothers to her daughters, the book is called “The Greatest Gift of All Is… A Daughter Like You.”

This particular one that like is written by Linda Hersey,

You are a wonderful daughter

I have asked myself
(as every parent does)
if I have loved you enough
and done the very best job
that I could for you.

Then, as human nature goes,
I remember mistakes
that I made
and how they might have hurt you.
Yet I never stopped loving you,
Even in the times
When I seemed distant.

I am so proud that you are my child;
When I think of you,
I feel tears in my eyes
Because you make me so happy.
I wonder why I haven’t told you this
Much more often than I have,
But sometimes it’s hardest to say
What we feel strongest about.

So I don’t want to let
Another moment pass
Without telling you
How much you mean to me
And how very much I love you
-Linda Hersey-

The underlined part is the part that I really like. It’s true, my mum never stopped loving me although there are times which she doesn’t happy for what I did and seemed distant.

I love you Mak, with all my heart! and for Lina, Happy mothers day to you too and of course, Happy Birthday!

Blog hopping

2008-05-10T06:49:00.000+03:00

Finally, all the rounds are officially over and this gives us a chance to concentrate on studying for the 5th year syllabus. The community medicine round exam was pretty good, I kind of enjoyed studying for it, it wasn’t so bad after all. Practicing answering the questions (MCQ and short questions) really helps in not feeling bored. That is one of the ways that makes me study for longer hours because it’s interactive, rather than just read…….

I was blog hopping yesterday, found so many talented writers. I am really amazed at how some people manage to get the idea going, they write about really interesting stuff and makes you think after reading it. However, there are some blog entries that make me sad rather than think… the entries that are about the daily lives of a person. It worries me how she describes what she does, it’s terrifying actually to think how Muslims are not embarrassed anymore to tell the whole world the bad things they do, i.e. drinking, drugs and etc. in the past decades, people were not like this… I don’t know what is wrong. And what makes me wonder was how the girl actually felt proud of it, as if it’s something cool to do. Peer pressure plays a big role… choosing the wrong friends can lead you to the downward spiral.

But I am not here to judge those kinds of people… they might be better than the me, than the people whom I thought were nice people… it’s just that I was worried about the deteriorating akhlak among the Muslim teens.

Better get going with my gynaecology revisions… carcinoma… and more carcinomas. 

Appointment with the ENT surgeon

2008-04-24T00:05:00.001+02:00

I just got back from my appointment with the ENT surgeon. As mentioned in my past entries, I’ve been having recurrent epistaxis (nose bleed) ever since I was little, and the attacks are precipitated by hot weather. I didn’t regard this as a big problem until today, I felt very weak and I was worried about that I became anemic from the acute blood loss… but then again, I didn’t think it’s a lot. Anyway, in whatever situation, it’s better to know the actual pathology rather than living in uncertainty as it makes us worry.

Anyway, my appointment was at 8.30pm but then we got there at 9pm due to the traffic jam, and the jam was from a road block on the bridge to Mohandessin. Lucky me, the doctor arrived about the same time as we did, so we waited for about 10 minutes in the waiting area. I liked his clinic, it was very cozy, relaxing (classical music playing in the background) and air-conditioned… so the waiting process wasn’t a bad one, honestly, I didn’t mind if I had to wait for another 30 mins! Hehe. I was his first patient, so I was called in first. As I walked in, I saw his “tools”… the things that I’m very familiar with and a few which I used during my ENT posting last year. Right then, I understood exactly why some people refuse to go to the doctors because they are scared… sad to admit, I felt the same! I sat down, and turned to my husband many times, telling him I’m scared.  I have no idea why I felt so nervous, but I was worried that the examinations might be painful. I was right! He put used the nasal speculum to view my nasal cavity, it was very uncomfortable. Then he “poked” my nose with a long metal rod covered with cotton bud at the end, and started to press on the walls of my nasal cavity. It hurts!!! He said that he was trying to induce some bleeding and find the weak vessels to cauterize. The doctor said that my attacks are quite frequent and he asked whether I have any bleeding from other sites, Alhamdulillah I don’t have any. He explained that my dry nasal mucosa caused the epistaxis and gave a few medicines. I have to apply gels into my nose and vitamin C to correct my capillary fragility.

The doctor asked me how I found him, I guess I’m his first Malaysian patient… so I told him, I googled for ENT surgeon in Cairo and found his name. He looked surprised! Hahaha.. I told him, his name was listed in the Committee of the Egyptian Otorhinolaryngology society. The initial plan was to see our professor from the college, Prof Reda Kamel. I contacted him and he told me about his clinic days, but he will go to his clinic in Manial on Saturdays and Tuesdays… and I cannot wait that long. So I decided to look for another doctor. I do feel bad but I don’t think he cares, he has millions of things to worry about, right????

I have to do some lab test tomorrow and another worry for me tonight… injections! I hate needles! I will more empathic towards others, particularly the sick people after this. Just now, when Dr Hisham used the nasal speculum, I thought about a young man in the ENT clinic last year, we were “playing” around with the speculum to look at this deviated nasal septum (DNS) and after some time, he sort of told us to stop…. Hahahaha.. Up until just now, I didn’t know why he was being uncooperative, but now I know why.

It’s 12.30am already, I cannot sleep. So I have to take my obstetrics book and start reading, then I’ll fall asleep!

Almost the end

2008-04-20T03:47:00.000+02:00

Last Tuesday, the 5th years made a surprise party to celebrate and to thank our O&G professor, Dr Mahmoud Salem. They refered to him as “The Professor of Generations”. He’s been giving free lectures to many batches before us… I guess he enjoys teaching a lot. What amazes me is the amount of humbleness he portrayed when the students were thanking him for the time and effort he spent to teach all of us… instead of accepting the acknowledgement, he thanked us back for allowing him to do good deeds. He said teaching us has helped him a lot too. I will really miss the lectures he gives. Actually, I am beginning to feel sad that the 5th year is almost ending. We have about 2 weeks of community medicine then the study leaves begin!

But I have something to look forward to this June, not only that it’s my birthday (5th June)… on the 3rd June, Mama (my mother-in-law) is coming. She’s coming with my nephew, sister-In-law and brother-in-law. Cannot wait for the summer holidays to come.

On another note, sometimes I don’t know why I feel time is passing by too fast and that I don’t have enough time to do many things. Is it because I waste too much time on entertainment? I hate the feeling of guilt and regret in the morning after I spent the night looking for funny clips on Youtube! Youtube has wasted a lot of my precious time. And of course, I’m the only person who should be blamed… and also to the people who put up clips of Dane Cook’s stand up comedy show!!!

I have to get going now. I’m behind schedule right now. The topics that I was supposed to cover yesterday has still not been read, what more the topics for today! Hahahahaha…

Surgery exam.

2008-03-26T18:08:00.000+02:00

One more round to go, then I’ll be done with 5th year. I look forward to the final year actually since I’ll be learning things that I learnt superficially in some rounds. For example, I learnt how to do the cardiac examinations, but I have no idea what is the underlying pathology. So it is exciting! Although many people say that it’s going to be a busy year, I still look forward to it. We will all need to be busy in certain period of our lives to achieve something, right?

My body is still aching from the intense weight lifting. Hehe. I told Rehab, my trainer that my body hurts, but she still insists that I should go on with the plan she set for me and that it’s good when I feel pain…? It’s so different from what I thought, but… should anything happen to me, I will know who to blame… hehehe.

I was going to blog about my surgery exam actually. That was the whole point of updating! Anyway, I arrived at the department at 7.45am. I expected to see my Malaysian classmates, but none of them were there. This is unusual because they usually arrive early… very very early for a few of them. Sharp at 8am, the HO doctor started calling some names/numbers, ready to enter the clinical exam. I called Faaiqah, she was on her way… poor her, she said that she walked fast like hell after I called.

So, the students that were already there entered first. I was asked by the HO which case I wanted, I was aiming on thyroid examinations since yesterday. However, the only thyroid case they had was already taken (which I later found out it was Iqbal who booked the patient first)… but I don’t mind really. So I got a hernia case. Things went well at first, except for the fact that we weren’t given any papers to write our patient’s sheet on. I bring papers everyday, except for yesterday of course! Because I thought, I wont be needing them since we were always given papers during exams, they wont allow our own paper… so what’s the point of putting extra unwanted weights in my bag…! Well, I was wrong there. The doctor told me to start taking the patient’s history, remember them first, then write later when he finds papers for us. The patient was ok, but then, as I was about to do the examinations on him, he refused to allow me to do so. He asked for money first. This is expected actually, and we, as students, we will always bring money for the patients. But… yesterday morning, I forgot to break my 50LE, so I only had a 50LE and a 5LE notes, that was what I thought at first… actually, I had a 20LE but it was hidden between the many 50 piastres notes I had in my wallet, hehe. So when I gave 5LE, he refused to accept! He was going on and on and on about the non-sense of me giving him only 5LE… I couldn’t take it anymore and left right away. Later, while waiting for my turn for the oral exam, the patient (named Sayed Gamal, I still remember his name, hehe) sent his “agent” to me and his “agent” asked for money. Luckily I found my 20LE at that time and gave him the money. They can be very harsh sometimes (the patients) and it really irritates me. I mean, I did plan to give him some money…. But there is no need to tell me off and nag. Urgh!

My examinations were not complete! Fortunately, Asef, one of the top students in our class got the same patient as me… and later he helped me out with the filling in of the examination details. May Allah bless him! I was so relieved.

Overall, the oral exam wasn’t so bad. I got the professor that taught us about 3-4 times, so all the questions he asked were things he taught during his tutorials. Alhamdulillah for that. Anyway, I have to go now.

Good luck everyone in whatever you do!

3 reps of weights?

2008-03-25T04:12:00.000+02:00

I just signed in to a new membership at Gold’s Gym, Nile branch. It is way better than my previous gym because they have trainers that create the workouts specifically for each member. I was so exhausted by the time I finished my 25 minutes cardio workout on the treadmill followed by 3 reps of weights, sit ups and steps… then 5 minutes of running (what the ****???), it’s something different compared to my workout plan with the previous trainer. Until now I still feel the tiredness.

Anyway, Mona Zaki the actress also works out there. I saw her in the locker room, very pretty even without her make-up! She even prayed Zohor after she finished. That surprises me because it is unusual, most of the celebrities in Malaysia do not do this… I am not saying 100% of them… but surely you know what I mean.

I just couldn’t write anymore. I am too tired I guess. I have to read for surgery’s exam on Wednesday. I planned on practicing the clinical examinations with Faaiqah tomorrow, but at the same time I am so tempted to go for the “Maximum Calorie” class at the gym… but hey… I must know my priorities right?

Dr Zuhaili

2008-03-20T20:58:00.000+02:00

Last week, my husband attended a meeting on Zakat held by the Kuwait government and all the ulama’ around the world were there. He said that it was like in a dream because he got the chance to meet all of them at the same time. Before this, it’d happen in his dream and he’d get frustrated when he wakes up, wishing that it was in real life! Hehe. Anyway, he got the chance to mingle around them and watch the way the talk to each other, he told me all this with so much joy every time he calls me to update about what he’s been up to. I was so happy for him because I know how he had wanted this chance.

The best part was that he had asked Dr Muhamad Zuhaili to come to our house on Friday (15th March). To our surprise, he agreed to come during the 3 hour -break he has before the Friday prayers. He stayed at our place for about 2 hours! It was a nice experience. He was a very kind man and very fatherly! He even said that I’m like his daughter when I was about to take a picture with him… I was so flattered. He prayed for the both of us too.

We hope to visit him some day in Dubai. Amin…

Enough is enough

2008-03-20T04:30:00.000+02:00

Finally, I got to the time to pack my winter clothes and take out my summer outfits out of the top cupboard. Every year, during the changing season period, which happens in April and September I will pack my clothes and get out the ones suitable for the coming season. As for just now, I got out my summer clothes. I packed all my winter jackets and cardigans! I hope I won’t need them anytime soon. Sometimes the weather is unpredictable, so that’s why I packed them a bit late this year although it has already been 2 weeks since I last wore a winter jacket. The maximum temperature was about 28-30°C last week.

(I'm so worried mine would end up like this one day!)

Anyway, as I was packing the clothes, I realized that I had an overflow of clothes! I really should stop buying them! I have to keep a mindset of “I have everything that I need.” Why should I have lots of clothes anyway right? It was a horrible feeling… I found a few plastic bags of old clothes which I didn’t know what to do with them, and the worse part was that I had forgotten about their existence until just now. So this means that I have to get rid of them. I once heard on the TV that we only wear 20% of what we have in the closet. It is so true! Actually, we only wear the new outfits, and abandon the old ones… and later the new one becomes old and here comes a new one. It goes on and on and on until the cupboard becomes inaccessible! Thank God mine hasn’t reached that point yet, but it will be like that anytime soon if I don’t stop the input or I don’t give the old clothes away.

(My dream closet)

So what did I do? Last time on Oprah, she called an organizing expert and he said that when you want to spring clean any part of your house, you lay everything out… and choose the items that you want and throw away the unselected items. With this, you will find that you only want a very small portion of the things that you have. Don’t choose which items that you don’t want anymore because you will keep most of it… do it the other way round. I find this tip very helpful, and so I did the same with my tudungs just now. I only picked out the ones that I really like. Still, there were too many of them… but hey… at least I got rid of about 10 of the unwanted ones. As for the clothes, I gave away a few since I had already given away quite a few last December.

Moving on with other junks that I keep… the beauty products. When will it ever be enough??? I have about 3 hair serums of different brands, about 10 bottles of perfumes… countless body lotions and etc. Honestly, I am not proud of it as it shows my lack of self-discipline when going shopping. With all that I have, every time I go to Faces, I will test new perfumes that are out with a very strong desire of wanting to buy them. Luckily they are very pricey here, so that blocks me from buying the new perfumes, but still, once in a while I would purchase one bottle that I find irresistible. I get bored of perfumes easily, that’s why I feel that I need to change them all the time. What’s weird is that all the bottles are about half empty! Right now, I am trying to finish all of them, and once they are finished, I will buy a new one. I even have the Ralph Lauren perfume that I got from my parents while I was in form 5! Sometimes I feel “sayang” to finish all of it as each bottle has its own memory.

I am feeling very sleepy right now. I think I will sleep and go out a bit later at night. For those who read this, thank you so much. I had to let out some of my wonders about women and their “junks.”

Living in the dark

2008-03-07T02:26:00.000+02:00

With my dad in Hussein, the night before he left

I received a very early phone call about 2 weeks ago, it was at 4 am! I was so scared to answer as the numbers seems like it’s a call from Malaysia. Who would call me as early as this, unless it’s an emergency? Anyway, I bravely answered the phone… it was my mum, what a relief… she sounded cheerful! I knew this call was about good news. She told me that my dad is coming in 4 days! It was a totally unplanned visit. What happened was the day before, I called my dad asking him when he’s coming. He told me that he can come anytime, but it all depends on my mum’s schedule, she’s been very busy lately, especially with the setting up of the new hospital, The Prince Court Medical Centre. So my dad told my mum about me calling him, so my mum thought, why not he just go alone… and so it happened! One of the reasons was because my dad wanted to see my husband’s progress after the surgery because neither of them had seen him after that. He was very much impressed with the vast amount of improvement! Alhamdulillah…

It was really nice having my dad around. I bunked off school for many days… I don’t know why I’m telling this in my blog as it’s clearly nothing to be proud of… hehe.

This is why I named this entry living in the dark…

On the day he arrived, the light in my study room just stopped working in all of a sudden. Strangely, it happened the last time he came too! But then after he went back, the light started working… then again this time. He jokingly said that maybe it’s the bad aura he brought that made the light stop working… hehe. It could be that! Anyway, yesterday the electricians came… finally after days and days of waiting for them to come! The problem was so simple, even the electricians (there were 2 of them) laughed at us. The wire connecting to the bulb was not attached! So he just took a tape and tied around the wires! As simple as that…

I was so relieved to get light into my study room, because I had not been able to study the whole time. It’s something I wish I could change about myself, I cannot study unless on my study table. I get easily distracted when I study on the dining table… this is a major contrast to my husband’s style. He studies EVERYWHERE! On the bed, while waiting for the taxi, while waiting for the food to come when we eat out… basically, almost everywhere. I cannot even study at other people’s house. I should really change my mindset. So… what do I do when my husband reads his book while waiting for the food to come??? When we first got married, I used to make a deal with him… no books when we eat out... haha... but now, I just bring my own books, not medical books (of course)… one of the self-help books or novels. It is one of the good ways to kill time when waiting for something.

This was taken on the way to the airport

I’m craving for pizza right now. It’s been ages since I had pizza… so we planned to have it for lunch today and right now, I’m waiting for my husband to get ready.

Oh yeah… I’m so nervous about the coming election this Saturday. My sister is voting for the first time! I’m so proud of you Tiyah… (if you’re reading this)… make sure you vote for the right party ok… look carefully then pangkah ok!

I really hope the alternatives win the majority vote. It really is the time to change…

Nervous about the elections,
Aniah.

SURGERY!

2008-02-18T21:38:00.000+02:00

It was our second day of the surgery round and there were no classes. I haven’t been on my luck this week. Last Saturday on the 16th February, I had two extra classes. But I had to leave home as early as 7 am to say goodbye to Lina before she leaves for Malaysia. Then I went for the pediatrics class which ended at about 11.20 am. After that, I walked to MEDC for the next extra class; O&G. it was supposed to start at 12, but then I found out later that it’ll start at 12.30pm! So, I waited and waited... alone that is! Then at 1pm, still no signs of class. I was again disappointed with “cancelled classes” yesterday and this morning. Luckily I brought books to read.

Anyway, I don’t know what else I’m supposed to write. Oh yeah, I watched the movie Fracture (Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins) just now! A really good movie. And Lina, if you’re reading this, thanks for recommending me to watch the movie. Keep the recommendations coming ok!

Best Wishes,
Aniah.

Remaining positive

2008-02-14T19:23:00.000+02:00

Last week, on the 10th of February was my husband’s 27th birthday. He’s so old, right? Hehe. Another 3 years he’ll be 30 insyallah. We began our day with a nasi lemak breakfast, it was the first thing I did after solat Subuh. It’s supposed to be something special, then I brought out his birthday cake and he opened his presents… and that evening, we went out with his aunty for dinner. It was a nice day although there were only 2 people involved in the whole event, excluding the dinner of course. Honestly, it was still fun despite being disappointed with some of my actions (hehe)… right after he cut his cake, I found myself constantly going to the fridge indulging myself with the cherry cheesecake! Nevertheless, every bite was priceless…

Sometimes I wonder why we are so scared of aging when it’s part of life. The older we get the more things we would have achieved in our lives, and wouldn’t that make us feel more satisfied? My mum said that being 40 was the best part of her life, because she was stable in all aspects of life, especially financially and career-wise, and we were already in our teens during that time, and she didn’t have to hassle with the small stuff. But then again, I hear her say this almost every year. She always feels that she is happy no matter at what age she is. Clearly, my mum is very optimistic about whatever situation she’s in. Sometimes she doesn’t get it why my sister and I moan about the things happening to us. She’d always tell us to look on the bright side of that situation. One useful lesson she taught me was, failing in exams shouldn’t be regarded as a failure but it’s a feedback telling me that my method was incorrect and that I should change my method of studying as well as increasing my daily studying hours.

I try to keep myself positive most of the time, it is a quality which I try to hold on to as it is very beneficial in our everyday life. I always find myself being tachycardic every time the morning taxi is occupied because to me it means that I’ll be late for class. What makes it worse is that on mornings that I’m slightly late, the taxi driver would take another passenger after taking me and drops that passenger first then goes to my place, and I’ll be stuck in the traffic jam as result of that turn he made for that other passenger! Here, I have two choices, it’s either I get all moody about it and worry about arriving late for class or remain calm and think that I’ll still make it in time. So… what happens? Believe me people, I would still (about 98% of the time) be on time, and sometimes, I’d still be the first three to arrive or the doctor comes 30 minutes later. So, the question comes to mind, IS THERE REALLY A NEED TO FEEL WORRIED?

2008-02-13T07:52:00.000+02:00

I am so relieved right now. The worst part of the exams are over; history taking and oral exams. Overall I am happy with what happened as the question I was hoping for the doctor to ask was asked! I really wanted him to ask about the diagnosis of ovulation. He was very nice. Alhamdulillah.

Anyway, I have the MCQs tomorrow, and I look forward to finishing that one too. After that, Lina and I plan to go to City Stars Mall. I want to spend quality time with her before she goes back to Malaysia for the delivery of her baby boy. May she have a safe delivery and have a healthy baby boy. Insyallah. And she’s staying a night at my place tomorrow… hope there’ll be a nice movie on the movie channel. I feel sad thinking that I won’t see her till May. The other night, she got me worried the whole night. She was telling me how we may not see each other again, and I should face the fact that what she is going through is a big thing. This is to Lina, whom I know reads my blog (my loyal fan, hahahahaha).

"Lina, I believe you’ll face this really well. You’re a very strong woman, and I admire your courage, I mean, it’s not easy going through a pregnancy alone here. Hope you have a memorable third trimester with your loving husband, Shobi. And I am very sorry for my broken promise of volunteering to accompany you to your ANC check-up and be your “spouse” here. I guess I make a bad “spouse” eh... hehe. "

I am so emotional tonight. But I thought, I have to write this while I still feel like this… hahaha…

Good night!

Why Men Love Bitches

2008-02-07T19:32:00.000+02:00

I bought this new book called “Why men love bitches”, written by Sherry Argov. I was very much intrigued by the title. I read the first third of the book, and I couldn’t picture myself finishing the whole book. Most of the things told in the book contradict my belief. According to the book, there are two types of women. The first one is the “nice” type, where she shows all her emotions towards her man… while the second one, “the bitch” that reserves most of her feelings and plays hard to get. I had always been the “nice” one… before I go on, let me make it clear, I am not saying that I am nice, so when I say nice, it refers to how Sherry Argov categorized the type of person I am ok. Anyway, back to what I was saying, I had always been the nice one, because to me, why should you play hard to get? I mean, life is so short for all those things. It maybe suitable to play hard to get when you’re dating, or just getting to know each other, but not in a marriage.

So… why do men love bitches? What do these bitches do? She maintains her independence, she is mysterious, she doesn’t pursue him… the things that the bitches do goes on for 230 pages. This is a good boo, but it’s not suitable for me. It may work for some women; they keep themselves in a secured place by applying the principles and not get themselves badly hurt in case the relationship turns sour. There’s another book written by Sherry too, entitled Why Men Marry Bitches. And I dare not own it, just incase the principles are not parallel with mine again.

This year’s book fair has improved a lot. There are wider varieties of English books, especially the self-help books which I love so much. I treated myself with books on organizing, time management and reaching your goals. Books like these certainly are very helpful, especially during the times that I feel loss of motivation, and I feel it quite frequently. Sad to say, but I can’t deny that fact!

I wish I could carry on with more reviews on the books I read during this mid year holidays, but I have endometrial carcinoma and ovarian tumours waiting for me. I cannot “disappoint” them again this morning as I stood them up last night. Hehe.

My Abandoned blog

2008-02-07T05:28:00.000+02:00

(Keeping myself busy with foooood)

Firstly I shall begin my entry with a big laugh… muahahahaha.. I am laughing at myself… laughing at my failure to discipline myself to update my blog with entries. Anyway, the past has gone, so let’s look at the future. Sometimes, when I think about this abandoned blog of mine, it makes me think “what was I thinking???” I guess when I started my own blog last year; it was because of the “trend” where my friends started their blog and write interesting stories about their life. So I thought I could pull it off too. But think again Aniah… their lives are interesting, and they write well. See, I’m babbling nonsense here. Hehe...

Lately, I found a new addiction… FACEBOOK! I am so addicted to it. I find myself wound up to the website for hours, and suddenly, my bedtime is in 10 minutes, and none of the tasks on my “to-do list” are done. So what I do now is set a timer on my hand phone for 20 minutes so that it rings after 20 minutes and I’m supposed to get up and go to the study table, right away. Since I started this new self-discipline routine, it worked a couple of times, usually I just snooze the alarm. (Sigh)

It takes a very strong power to have self-discipline. You’ve got to really want what you want, and do whatever it takes. And this is the exact thing I’m struggling with right now. There are times where I feel like I really want what I want, in terms of grade that is! But when it comes to choosing between reading Gynecology and Fashion Police on the Emmy’s Red Carpet… oh boy… it’s so hard to choose. Hehe.

Well, I better get going. I’ve completed all my tasks on the to-do list today, and I have extra time. And the thing that puzzles me is that, why can’t I just complete 1 or 2 tasks for tomorrow right? Since I have extra time today???!!!! Again, it all boils down to… I’ve got to really want it!

:)

As Requested...

2007-12-15T07:19:00.000+02:00

First of all, let me get this straight, the reason why I am updating blog is because my best friend, Lina was complaining how I don’t update my blog anymore. So she’s the only reason why I am doing this.. (Lina, happy now???), hehe. I had been so lazy to update anything on this blog. I was addicted to Facebook, I found old friends! Especially my lost friends in London, I lost contact with them. It’s been a decade already since I last contacted them! Lucky they still remember me. So that’s what I have been up to lately.

My second addiction is spending time with my newly wed friend, again, her name will be mentioned for the second time… of course, the one and only, Mrs Lina Gul. Apparently, she got me addicted with shopping for $$$$ stuff! And she was also the one who got me addicted to Facebook, so can you imagine what a big culprit she is? Hehe… whatever it is, I am to be blamed too as I fell into the trap. Lina, I was just kidding ok, I really enjoy spending time with you. You’re almost like my other half! Hehe. Gosh, I hope my husband is not jealous when he reads this paragraph.

Anyway, I am now in my obstetric and gynecology round. It is so much fun. We learnt so many new things this year. But the thing that irritates me is when the residents keep on repeating the history taking part! They repeat the same thing over and over again, even worse, they are the topics that were already taught last year! Repetition is good for the memory, but when it’s too much, I feel like puking!

Ok… I really cannot think of anything to write. Have to sleep early as I have extra classes tomorrow.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha!

5-minute beauty test

2007-11-30T22:11:00.001+02:00

The Five-Minute Beauty Test

My Result: Confident Attitude

Hello, hot stuff! Not only are you fabulous, but it's clear you know it. Confident and assertive, your five-minute beauty fix comes from standing tall and remembering that you always shine. And maybe it sounds clichéd, but it's true: A woman's confidence is her most attractive quality. Nothing says "hot" quite like knowing you own the show.

After all, a girl like you knows it's not about what you're wearing, but about how you wear it. And it's that attitude that really captures the spotlight. Way to work it!

Take this test >

IQ level?

2007-11-30T21:55:00.000+02:00

The Classic IQ Test

My Result: Visual Mathematician

You have a strong ability to process visual-spatial and mathematical information. These skills combined with your strengths in logic are what make you a Visual Mathematician.

You're able to understand patterns visually and in numbers. That means your mind can create a mental picture for any problem. In addition to that skill, you possess an intelligence that allows you to apply math to that picture, too. That helps you manipulate multiple parts of the picture (or problem) to come up with a solution.

You have many skills that are critical to success and problem-solving. Your talents help you understand the "big picture," which is partly why people may turn to you for direction — especially in the workplace. You flourish in environments where tasks are clearly defined, and you are a whiz at improving processes and making things more efficient. Your ability to detect patterns and your skills in math and logic, make it natural for you to come up with ideas and theories that simplify processes for everyone.

Outside of work, Visual Mathematicians tend to do well at strategic activities like chess. It must be that ability to recognize patterns — both as they are and how they develop. Regardless of how you put your mind to use, you've got a great set of talents. You will be able to envision a clear path and calculate the risks, and more importantly, the rewards, of anything you take on.

Take this test >

Will I be a multimillionaire?

2007-11-30T21:21:00.000+02:00

Your Chances of Being a Multimillionaire: 64%

You have a good chance of being a multimillionaire. Better than most people.
You simply have a natural knack for money and the personality for success.

Will You Be a Multimillionaire?

I'm a Bree now?

2007-11-23T11:55:00.000+02:00

Which Desperate Housewives Character Are You?
	You are Bree. You are caring and idealistic, but your hard work often borders on obsessiveness, and you can seem uptight and prudish to others.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

What the hell is wrong with me? Am really that uptight?

I'm a Charlotte?

2007-11-23T11:41:00.000+02:00

Which Sex and the City Character Are You?
	You are Charlotte. Fairytales were made for you. You've had your share of heartbreak, but that doesn't stop you from opening your heart to others and searching for your happily-ever-after. To some, you may appear naive and your romantic ideals far-fetched, but you know that someday, your Prince will come.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

I keep getting Charlotte in other quizes too!

Where's my Carrie......?

My Celebrity Hotspot

2007-11-22T16:18:00.000+02:00

What's Your Celebrity Hot Spot?

My Result: Hyde

With your love of the spotlight, there's no better place for you to find the flashbulbs than by dancing on tables at Hollywood's hottest nightclub, Hyde. Always ahead of the scene, you're no stranger to envious looks and never afraid to show off your picture-perfect style.

From grinding with a hottie on the dance floor to watching the sun come up on your way home, we're willing to bet that you have plenty of wild stories. While you do enjoy quiet time and relaxing evenings at home once in a while, you can't wait to hit the social scene. So popular!

Take this test >

Hahahaha..

Am I a Paris or Lindsay?

2007-11-22T16:14:00.001+02:00

Are You More Paris or Lindsay?

My Result: 87% Lindsay Lohan

It's just your luck that you're like this driven and gifted teen queen. With your talents, it looks like your future's gonna be fully loaded!

Take this test >

Glad to be back!

2007-10-27T07:55:00.000+02:00

Alhamdulillah, I am so glad to be back. The 24-hour journey back to Cairo really is very tiring. 7 hours from KL to Dubai, then a 12-hour transit, then 3 hours and 40 minutes flight from Dubai to Cairo. But I enjoyed the journey all along. I did feel a bit sad, but I switched my mind to thinking of something that makes me happy. The Dubai international airport was great. I am so thankful that my dad could send me back to Cairo because travelling alone would have been a big burden on me, I think I would have probably cried all along the way, hehe. Right now I am waiting for him to wake up, we’re going out for breakfast, then to the university to buy paediatric books. I can’t wait to start my class, hope I remain motivated forever! Ok... pen off time now. Ayah just woke up. Have to get ready quickly, he’s very punctual!

Futsal

2007-09-27T15:38:00.001+02:00

I don't know why lately I am a bit bothered to update my blog. Actually, it's a sign showing that I'm at home surfing the net most of the time... worried about time flying too fast that sometimes you don't get to enjoy many things. I do feel a bit sad right now. But what can I do, nothing stays the same right? I mean, if Allah makes us happy all the time, then we would not appreciate the good times and take it for granted. Besides, to achieve whatever you want in life, you have to step out of your comfort zone... and again, there is no shortcut to success.

I almost forgot, last week, I watched my husband playing futsal with his brothers, cousins and nephews. It was really fun watching them play because we (the girls) get to laugh at their silly moves, hehe. Poor Abang, he lost... I can tell that he is really frustrated with it. No matter what, he's always my number 1! :) Here are some photos taken.

Abang & his brother, Abg Faiz

Kinokuniya

2007-09-25T21:55:00.000+02:00

I went to KLCC yesterday with my mum. I picked her up at her office then off we went to KLCC which was about 3 minutes drive from Jalan Kia Peng (mum’s new place). It’s been so long since I last saw the place being so empty… there were many reasons contributing to that, firstly, it’s got to be the weekday and of course, it was during the fasting month. Usually, the place would be packed with so many people. I hate going up and down by the elevators as it was always full… but not the case yesterday! :)

We bought lots of self-help books from Kinokuniya. That’s the thing about us (my mum and me)… there are never enough self-help books. In fact, it’s the only type of book I read nowadays… my novel days are so over. I prefer to watch DVDs rather than reading, he he. Back to self-help books, one of the books I bought was called The Buzan Study Skills Handbook written by Tony Buzan. I have only read about 40 pages, and I must say that the book seems very interesting. It tells you how to speed read… and this is a skill that I need badly. I read very slowly as I tend to repeat the same sentence twice to make sure I comprehend the sentence well. I am very slow… hehe. I plan to finish the book by today.

Another interesting book was entitled Creative Visualizations. This book helps you to visualize of the daily things you face. One example is about beauty… according to the author (forgot her name), as you apply the lotion on your face everyday, picture that the moisturizer is being absorbed into your skin and bla bla bla… by doing this, the effect of the lotion is enhanced because you are talking to your subconscious mind. It’s hard to explain with just a single blog entry. But this method of visualizing is the latest thing for self-motivation and self-enrichment.

Ok… I better continue reading or I will not reach my target for today. I’m supposed to pick my car from the service centre in an hour, and God knows how lazy I am to do that… :(

I miss Egypt!!!

Here is the link for those interested in the Tony Buzan's book.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buzan-Study-Skills-Handbook-Techniques/dp/1406612073

Bad Dreams

2007-09-20T02:22:00.000+02:00

Selamat Berpuasa to all the muslims out there!

Lately, I had been getting bad dreams in my sleep, especially during my ‘meaningful’ after Subuh nap. Many of dreams were about both of us going back to Egypt and in the dreams I felt so sad leaving Malaysia. Even worse, I left a lot of important stuff here and forgot to buy some things to bring back to Egypt. There was even a dream where nobody sent us to the airport and I cried because I was really hurt no one was bothered to send us! They are really silly but I hate the feeling when I wake up because it makes me feel scared to go back. Subconsciously, I am developing some kind of phobia or something towards returning back to my ‘old life’ which is the student life. Help!!! I don’t want to go back yet… hehe. I am enjoying every second spent here. I really hope all the laziness I feel right now will fade away as 26^th October (departure date) approaches. There also thoughts of quitting my studies! But insyallah I’ll never do that… would my parents allow me to do so anyway??!!! I am just too lazy that’s all. I have to think of the good things I experienced in Egypt… I have lots of friends there… I’m going to be in the 5^th year and that is a whole new beginning… it’s almost winter! I love cold seasons, they keep me awake and fresh. I need to visualize myself living a really enjoyable life. Actually, I have always enjoyed staying in Egypt, in fact I felt sad leaving Egypt when we first got back. I guess I am sad because there’s no more family there. This is part of life, nothing stays the same, right?

Well, another 2 hours till Maghrib! Mak is not back yet from work, so we’re waiting for her to come back and ‘lepak-lepak’ with her. Again, this is another activity that I will surely miss. I don’t know where Abang is exactly right now, probably in the TV room… so I better check on him.

Life after 4 years of marriage

2007-09-06T00:28:00.000+03:00

Alhamdulillah we have already passed 4 years of being each other's partner, it feels the same. I once heard a quote saying that marriage is like wine, the older it is, the better it gets. I suppose it is true because the longer you know a person, the more you understand about that person... and the same goes to both of us.

I just came back from KL with my dad, today was our first day out together... I just realized that since I came back, we have never been out with just the two of us. We went to the Emirates Airlines office to get my ticket back to Cairo printed. I felt sad just now, because we are going back to Cairo for real. Before this it felt like the day would not come, but it's ok because life goes on no matter what and I must admit that I miss my house in Cairo too. I miss the daily routines of waking up early and going to the classes... it is a better routine compared to my daily routine here. I didn't go to the hospital today although I'm supposed to watch operations.. I can't be bothered. Maybe it's because I'm fasting (ganti of course!). And also I have no car today Abang is driving today as he left his at mama's house... so I'm left with my dad's car which is too big for me to drive around, hehe. I don't mind actually because I'm planning to sleep all day long till buka puasa.

I can't wait for this weekend... I'm going shopping for baju raya with my sisters-in-law and Mama. Better to do the shoppings before Ramadhan comes. Anyway, Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan to all!!!

Terengganu break

2007-08-19T01:51:00.001+03:00

I am in Terengganu as I am writing this. There are 2 weddings to attend, both are my second cousin’s wedding. It has been years since I went to Terengganu and I am enjoying the beautiful scenery of Duyong. We are leaving to KL tomorrow morning and I have to admit, I feel so lazy to go back. I don’t know whether it’s because of this place or it’s because I am too lazy to go back to my daily routine of waking up in the morning and go to the wards… erm… I wonder which one…

Incase I haven’t mentioned… I am now doing elective for internal medicine posting. So I am attached to this particular ward, which is the medicine ward 4. Anyway, I feel so down looking at the UKM students, they know so much about clinical examinations, which we lack of in Egypt! They can examine the patients like doctors, what not with the white coats that they wear… I do feel challenged and that makes me study in the evening even after a very tiring day at the ward. However I feel really touched when my friends there try to teach me and they are very nice!

One of the many patients in the wards really touched my heart, this patient has SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus) and despite of what she went through, she can still put a smiling face every morning when we clerk and examine her. I look forward to seeing her every time I go to the wards… I hope she is still around when I come back from Terengganu, it’s not that I am praying for her not to get well, it’s just that I felt frustrated as I didn’t say goodbye before I went to Terengganu. My mum told me that when she was a student, going to the hospital was a way for her to forget all the problems because you see others with much bigger problems compared to your problems. When I look at the patients with terminal diseases, it makes to thank Allah for what He has blessed me with and instantly some of my problems and worries seem so small. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to take medicine… I get to help the people in need with God’s will of course.

Ok, have to end here, I need to get ready for breakfast!

Back from Cairo

2007-07-20T20:32:00.000+03:00

Alhamdulillah we have arrived from Cairo, it's been a week already but felt like ages. We've been busy since we got back so I guess that made us feel like we've been back for months. I sometimes feel like I forgot about my life in Cairo, hehe. Believe it or not I did feel sad to leave our house in Cairo, our life is there and it does feel like home. I regard our return to

Malaysia

as a holiday rather than 'going back home.'

Anyway, the trip back was ok, our 2-hour transit in Singapore was good too, but towards the end, I was a bit pissed off with the strict rules of 'no chemicals on board’... Forgot the name of the regulation. I had to discard my lotion and even worse, my SK-II toner! I was so disappointed with this whole thing because I was not warned earlier that the passengers are not allowed to bring in any liquids in their hand luggage. If I had known, I would have packed my facial care set in the checked-in bags. According to the rule, liquids more than 100ml are not allowed... Luckily the perfumes in my hand luggage bag were either 50ml or 100ml. But what can I do, what is done is done... So this is a reminder to all of us, NO LIQUID OF MORE THAN 100ml ok??? I was really sad throughout the flight to Malaysia from Singapore, but my abang comforted me by saying it's ok.. We can buy a new set ok... Hehe. But all the sadness was relieved when we met our family... My parents, mama and my brother-in-law (Anas) came to pick us up. Then we ate at the nasi lemak place near the arrival lounge. That was a whole lot of fun!

I wish times like this last forever :)

It feels so good to be back. I'll continue later...

Mukhsin

2007-07-06T02:33:00.000+03:00

What a boring day… I was supposed to go to the bank, but decided not to because I was too lazy to get ready! No friends to call and my hubby went out for his exams, so I spent my morning watching Mukhsin, a film produced by Yasmin Ahmad. It is has a simple story line but I enjoyed watching scenes of the true Malay culture, something that is not artificial, unlike many Malay films nowadays. I get sick of watching the ‘mat-saleh’ wannabes in films.

I have started packing my bag, I began with my clothes first, and later with my hubby’s. I thought I should bring some clothes back, I will regret it when I have nothing to wear in Malaysia.

I have no idea of what to write, but I felt like writing something…

I guess I should stop.

forensic

2007-07-02T07:27:00.000+03:00

What a big relief! Alhamdulillah I have finished all my written papers for the 4^th year final exam, almost done… just one practical exam and one oral exam left. My hands are so tired from writing, it’s not that I had written so much for the answers; it’s just that when I study, I tend to write a lot, so this causes the muscle pain on my arm… not forgetting, I grip my pen very hard so this plays a role too. Anyway, I am not that satisfied with my forensic exam. I couldn’t answer one question about subendocardial hemorrhage, it was just 6 marks out of 100 marks so I thought it’s not worth to mourn over it although deep in my heart I wished that I read the topic well. I don’t know why I gave up, I just managed to write down the definition only and few guessed-answers (I thought the examiner needed some laugh from the stupid answers!!!). As for toxicology, we were told that only clinical picture and treatment will be asked, but just now we were asked about the fatal dose and fatal period! Again, another guessing game! I left 20 minutes early because I had promised Lina that I will leave early and get our letter of confirmation stating that we are a student of Cairo University. It is for the application letter for elective studies during the summer holidays.

Oh yeah… we watched a ‘cerekarama’ on youtube, Cahaya Hati… a sad movie with a very stupid ending.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjO57r_Y9e4

God… I am so hungry right now. Nothing to eat… we’re supposed to go out for dinner in a few minutes. I better get ready now.

The Crap Showtime Arabia!

2007-06-30T21:06:00.000+03:00

I am so pissed of right now... and confused too. I'm going back on the 11th July and insyallah we plan to stay for Raya. So, I need to cancel my subscription to Showtime as there will be nobody at home to watch, so it's a waste of money if I continue the subscription. I called the Showtime hotline and told that I want to temporarily terminate my subscription, then the lady told me that I would have to return my decoder to their headquarters in Maadi and take it back when I come back here from Malaysia! What a bunch of crap that is. According to her, the decoder that I am using right now is not mine and the whole time I had been renting it! This is so different from what I was told when I first subscribed the system… just over a year ago, May 2006. I had to pay 700LE on top of one year subscription fee for family package channels… I could still remember the officer asking me whether I want to buy the decoder and dish from Showtime or not… it would cost me 700LE. I wasn’t bothered to buy cheaper systems outside (i.e. not from Showtime) as I had no time to survey the prices back then. So this means that the 700LE I paid was for the decoder and the dish. I told the story to the lady officer whom I spoke to just now… and she said that the 700 was for the administration fee… what the hell???!!!! So I raised my voice to her expressing how disappointed I feel towards the confusion and inconvenience. Somehow she agreed for me not to send the decoder to Showtime… but still I don’t know whose decoder it is. Who cares? I don’t think I want to continue with Showtime… they are so crap and the packages are crap too (the only reason why I stuck to Showtime was because of Desperate Housewives). It’s either you take the movie channels package with kids channels and no sports channel or kids channels with sports channels but no movie channels!!! It doesn’t fit what we want as I want the movie channels and my husband wants the sports channels. Being very gentleman, my husband agreed to my choice which is the movie channel package. J

The lesson learnt from this whole experience… it’s ok to raise your voice a little so that you won’t be cheated and get your rights… am I right?

Anyway, I have to continue studying for my forensic exam. I can’t wait to feel free after the paper tomorrow. Although I still have to face the practical exam for forensic, it is still not the same as facing a written paper.

Good luck to all!!!

Can't think of a subject

2007-06-20T09:50:00.000+03:00

A lot has happened since I last updated so right now I am not sure of what event to write about. Erm.. my cousins came, Siti and Dayah.. so the five, cramped in one taxi went bowling at the international Bowling Centre. Thank God it wasn't full, think again.. who would go bowling during the exam period right?.. except for the lazy ones :-P haha. My husband won.. d'uh, he was the only rose among the thorns, what do you expect, right? Haha. He was very worried that one of us might beat his scores because it would be very embarassing for him. I came 4th place.. haha. I am so not good at bowling, and I don't intend to become good at it anyway, so no worries! Tiyah was pretty good.

Ohyeah.. There was a farewell party held for Kak Bah. I will miss her, especially the long talks on the phone for over an hour. She is a very interesting person and someone nice to share your problems with as she knows how to calm you down and make you feel good again. I hope she succeeds in her internship back home in Malaysia. I can't wait for my turn.. the time to start a new chapter in life, it must be so different right.

Anyway, I need to continue with my ENT reading. I am trying to pretend that it is my favourite subject so that it will keep me going.

Are you romantic or realistic?

2007-06-13T17:29:00.000+03:00

You Are A Romantic

You life your life like a fairy tale... or at least you try to.
Living for magical moments, you believe there's only one true love for you.
Love is the most important thing in your life, and you don't take it for granted.
Your perfect match loves to be in love as much as you do!

Are You Romantic or Realistic?

Resetting my biological clock

2007-06-07T15:55:00.000+03:00

I am trying to stay awake right now, so that's why I thought of updating my blog with some sily entries. My biological clock needs a change people!!! I hate all this sleeping after subuh routine of mine, I know that the nights are really short, but when I think again, it shouldn't be a reason for me to sleep until 8 or 9am... sometimes 10am! So today is the first day since a very long time that I didn't sleep after the Subuh prayers. Abang and Tiyah are asleep, I wouldn't my husband because he woke up much earlier than I did.. it is understood why he is so sleepy. Tiyah just loves to sleep. Period. No need to elaborate more, hehe. (I'm sorry Tiyah). My sleeping habits are so severe up to the extent that I need my friends to call me at 6am on exam days.. just incase I am not awake yet. But so far, I am awake when they call me, but I tell them to do that just to be safe. For example yesterday... I keep on waking up during my sleep because I was too worried that I had overslept and miss my viva exam. Subconciously, in the back of my mind, I was too worried that I will not wake up in time for the time! We were told to be at the department by 7.30am, and normally, on days with no exam, at 7.30am, I would still be in bed.

Ok, I better get going now. I have to read 34 pages to read for today in order to reach my daily target. Looking forward to that (yeah right!).

Ophthalmology oral

2007-06-07T15:03:00.000+03:00

I had my oral exam today.. and to be honest, I am not happy about the exam. I was assessed by a doctor, I am not very familiar with her.. that's not much of a problem to me but I felt frustated when she asked me about the cause of congenital glaucoma. I explained about why in congenital glaucoma, the rise in IOP shouldn't be the diagnostic feature.. but when she asked why is there glaucoma.. I couldn't answer, but later, I remembered why... aarrgghh..

Enough of frustating topics.. erm.. nothing much happened. I returned home.. and Tiyah ordered Mc Donald's, she said it is supposed to cheer my mood back. It did but then I still felt down thinking about.. and I slept for like 4 hours.. and still, couldn't forget about the exam. Actually, I also felt sad because it is the end of ophthalmology...

Here are some pics of my birthday dinner.

Me and my husband at Chilli's

Tiyah trying to do some dramatic actions.. haha.

I though I wanted to upload loads of pictures but then felt lazy..

2007-06-05T18:59:00.000+03:00

I'm 23 today.. as my dad always say, a year closer to death... anyway, nothing much happened. I guess it's because of my coming exam, it's been years that I haven't felt the pleasure of spending my birthday, hehe. Oh, before I forget, thanks for all the wishes and MMS sent to me, thanks for the lovely thoughts.

Last night, the three of us went to City Stars to celebrate my birthday.. Abang decided to go last night rather than today. We had dinner at Chilli's Restaurant.. nice food and good service. Thought that we ought to have a change of menu, I've never tried Chilli's before so it was fun trying out new food.. mostly mexican food but really delicious. Thanks to Abang and Tiyah for the presents, they bought me the things that I really use and really like. It's sad that we went quite late, we got there at 10pm, so straight away went to Chilli's and done eating by 11.15pm.. so this leaves us 45 minutes to walk around. We only had time to go to the Virgin Megastore, and bought books. I wanted to get the sims 2, but Tiyah wouldn't let me, she said because she knows that I'll be hooked onto the game.. haha. She knows me very well. Once, I played Theme Hospital, and didn't sleep the whole night! I love simulation games. So I decided to get a self-help book as birthday treat from Abang. I like those kind of books.. some people think that it is something down-grading to be found in the self-help section in book stores.. even worse, reading one! Haha. Not to me...

While waiting for the yellow cab outside the mall, Tiyah was playing with her camera, taking pictures of herself. Then, a police came and said that no pictures can be taken! She wasn't even taking pictures of him! She was really pissed off, and said "Apa?? Kerja kau ni asyik marah orang aje!".. then the police was like What???! because he didn't understand as she was talking in malay. Then he said, you can take pictures of yourselves, but not the surrounding. Then we started to talk in an angry tone, but in Malay.. and the police looked stunned and kept quite. After that, when we took pictures, he just kept quite. So Tiyah suggested to me.. if after this, the taxi drivers yells at me, I should yell to them back in Malay, and say all the things that I feel like saying without feeling guilty, because to her (tiyah), Egyptians deserve to be treated like this as some of them have no respect for us, Malaysians.. Hahah.. good idea!

I have to go now...

War Stories?

2007-06-04T08:48:00.000+03:00

It has been quite a while since I last updated my blog.. Maybe it's because Tiyah is around. I began to wonder, have I been using my blog to release whatever thoughts I have in mind??? Because when there is someone at home, I'm not bothered to write. Anyway, right now, Tiyah is already asleep and Abang is right beside me revising for the exams.. I just felt like writing something.

Ijust got my mood back, I had a migraine attack since 4pm, it's not very strong but I cannot move much or the pulsation of the pain gets more intense. Alhamdulillah the pain was relieved after I took 2 tablets of Ponstan.

While having our midnight supper, the three of us brought up stories about black magic... It really was scary, I am not the brave type of person, actually, neither of us were.. Haha. My late grandmother stayed with us since I was small, so growing up with a grandmother who was scared of ghosts really didn't help! Until she passed away, Tiyah and I slept with her every night... Frankly, I loved sleeping with her because of the "bedtime stories" she told us! She used to tell about her experience during the war with Japan. My grandmother is a singaporean so that was where the war was really bad, worse than the war in Tanah Melayu. According to her stories, 3 months before the war began, they had to practise how to hide in the basement every night. Simulations of the attack were carried out so that the people know what to do when teh Japanese troops finally come to attack. Anyway, these basements that were present under the houses were covered by bags of sand.. And they were not allowed to light up any lamp once they hear siren (to signal that the Japanese have arrived) because it might look like a target for the air force plane from the top. She said that it was a very traumatic part of her life.. She even said that she prays to Allah to protect her generations from facing any war.

Kind of sleepy right now.

Al-fatihah to our missed Wan (my grandmother ) whom had taught us many values in life.

Guilty

2007-05-28T08:14:00.000+03:00

My heart is pounding right now.. I cannot wait to see my sister, Tiyah. She's in Dubai Airport now, trying to get some sleep in the lounge she said in her SMS to me. May Allah protect her.. I am pretty sure it is safe there.. I guess I am just too protective of her, hehe. Yesterday, I was crying inside because I felt guilty stealing Tiyah from my parents as she could have spent her 8-weeks holiday with them, which is something they seldomly do! But my parents reassured me that they are ok with not having Tiyah around... I hope they mean it for real and not just to comfort me. Am I too emotional? Sometimes, I wish that I have no emotions, because all these silly emotional cries can really affect my feelings for a long time. I think my husband can really understand me now, unlike when we first knew each other... haha. It's funny to think of those days.. the days when we wondered about each other's actions and reactions. He knows me now, if I ever cry, it doesn't always mean it is something really serious... donkeys on the streets can make me cry too... However, I think I am improving, alhamdulillah. I cry less now.. no more cries about donkeys with no ears!

God.. what a silly blog entry. I just woke up actually, and I got an SMS from Tiyah asking if I wanted to chat with her because she is online. I promised to chat with her because I know that she will bored during her transit in the Dubai airport... but then I overslept and didn't hear her SMS until after 3 hours. I felt guilty for making her wait... I felt guilty because she wants some sleep, but she cannot sleep well as she feels worried about her hand lugage safety.. and again, the luggage carries the stuff that I had asked for from Malaysia. I hate this guilty feeling. Ok.. I cannot go on like this or I will not study well this morning. Better end this entry or I might go on and on about how guilty I am feeling about Tiyah coming to stay with me.

Don't get me wrong, but I am very very happy having Tiyah ok..

Tiyah... I can't wait to see you...............

Jokes

2007-05-27T22:42:00.000+03:00

I have "great" news for you

The newlywed wife said to her husband when he returned from work, "I have great news for you. Pretty soon, we're going to be three in this house instead of two."

Her husband ran to her with a smile on his face and delight in his eyes.

He was glowing of happiness and kissing his wife when she said, "I'm glad that you feel this way since tomorrow morning, my mother moves in with us."

Finding perfect men

At a local coffee bar, a young woman was expounding on her idea of the perfect mate to some of her friends.

"The man I marry must be a shining light amongst company. He must be musical. Tell jokes. Sing. And stay home at night!"

An old granny overheard and spoke up, "Honey, if that's all you want, get a TV!"

Going to the office

Hubby - You always carry my photo in your handbag to the office. Why?

Wife - When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture and the problem disappears.

Hubby - You see, how miraculous and powerful I am for you?

Wife - Yes, I see your picture and say to myself, "What other problem can there be greater than this one?"

I just needed to use your car

After shopping for most of the day, a couple returns to find their car has been stolen. They go to the police station to make a full report. Then, a detective drives them back to the parking lot to see if any evidence can be found at the scene of the crime. To their amazement, the car has been returned.

There is an envelope on the windshield with a note of apology and two tickets to a music concert. The note reads, "I apologize for taking your car, but my wife was having a baby and I had to hot-wire your ignition to rush her to the hospital. Please forgive the inconvenience. Here are two tickets for tonight's concert of Garth Brooks, the country-and-western music star."

Their faith in humanity restored, the couple attend the concert and return home late. They find their house has been robbed. Valuable goods have been taken from thoughout the house, from basement to attic. And, there is a note on the door reading, "Well, you still have your car. I have to put my newly born kid through college somehow, don't I?"

Be afraid if you annoy this husband

A man and woman where on their honeymoon after a long and very happy courtship. On their honeymoon, they decide to take their horses through the beautiful mountain passes of Europe. As the horses were crossing a small stream, the woman's horse mis-steps and jostles the man's wife. Once across the stream, the man dismounts, walks over to the horse, and stares into its eyes. Finally, he states, "That's one." The man remounts his horse and they continue their ride.

A bit further down the path, the woman's horse stumbles when stepping over a fallen tree. The man dismounts, stares the horse in the eyes, and boldly states, "That's two!" He returns to his saddle and they move on.

As the afternoon sun began to set, the woman's horse once again lost its footing on a mossy slope. The man dismounts, moves to the woman's horse, and helps his wife out of the saddle the man. Moving to the front of the horse he stares it in the eyes and firmly says, "That's three," removes a pistol from his vest, and shots the horse dead.

The woman, quite upset at seeing the beautiful horse killed, says to her husband, "That's terrible, why would you do such a thing!"

The man stares at his wife and firmly says, "That's one!"

Wife was mad at me

Two deaf men were in a coffee shop discussing their wives.

One signs to the other, boy was my wife mad at me last night!

She went on and on and wouldn't stop!

The other Buddy says when my wife goes off on me I just don't listen.

How do you do that? Says the other.

It's easy! I turn off the light!

Are the pilots flying blind?

One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial airliner are seated waiting for the pilot to show up so they can get under way.

The pilot and copilot finally appear in the rear of the plane and begin walking up to the cockpit through the center aisle. Both appear to be blind; the pilot is using a white cane, bumping into passengers right and left as he stumbles down the aisle. The copilot is using a guide dog. Both have their eyes covered with sunglasses.

At first, the passengers do not react thinking that it must be some sort of practical joke. After a few minutes though, the engines start revving, and the airplane begins moving down the runway.

The passengers look at each other with some uneasiness. They start whispering among themselves and look desperately to the stewardesses for reassurance.

Yet, the plane starts accelerating rapidly, and people begin panicking. Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets closer and closer to the end of the runway, the voices are becoming more and more hysterical.

When the plane has less than twenty feet of runway left, there is a sudden change in the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once. At the very last moment, the plane lifts off and is airborne.

Up in the cockpit, the copilot breathes a sigh of relief and tells the pilot: "You know, one of these days the passengers aren't going to scream, and we aren't going to know when to take off!"

A pirate at the local bar discusses his past

A seaman meets a pirate in a bar, and talk turns to their adventures on the sea. The seaman notes that the pirate has a peg-leg, a hook, and an eye patch.

The seaman asks, "So, how did you end up with the peg-leg?" The pirate replies, "We were in a storm at sea, and I was swept overboard into a school of sharks. Just as my men were pulling me out, a shark bit my leg off."

"Wow!" said the seaman. "What about your hook"? "Well", replied the pirate, "We were boarding an enemy ship and were battling the other sailors with swords. One of the enemy cut my hand off."

"Incredible!" remarked the seaman. "How did you get the eye patch"? "A seagull dropping fell into my eye," replied the pirate.

"You lost your eye to a seagull dropping?," the sailor asked incredulously. "Well," said the pirate, "it was my first day with my hook"

Why are we so behind?

2007-05-24T02:51:00.000+03:00

I must say that Discovery Channel will soon be my favourite channel (hope it stays for long.. hehe) after this, no more E! channel ie. a channel that broadcasts 24 hours of celebrity gossips. It used to be my kind of thing (for the last 2 weeks), but sometimes, I just get so bored of it because you gain nothing by watching it. They show nothing but the lavish lifestyle of the celebs making millions of dollars by just acting in a movie, however, it is nice to watch those kind of things when you are in a tired mood, so it kind of takes some stress out, but frankly, they live a very stupid lifestyle.. they don't live in reality. Anyway, in contrast to watching the Discovery channel, after 20 minutes of watching a programme called "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", I think I got some knowledge about what is in the mind of the geologist and their current discoveries and experiment. According to them, the core of the earth contains metals.. and 1% is gold! So now, they are trying to dig up the earth, hoping to reach for the gold.. how true this theory is??.. I don't know, only Allah the Almighty knows what the contents of the core is. Although these scientist are non-muslims, I admire their strength of motivation and the urge to know and to keep on researching on the things that seem non-sense to others.... it is not an easy job! I guess that is the reason why they are so ahead compared to the muslims today.. who discuss about the small matters such as the type of dressing and hijab etc..!!??? They are important of course, but sometimes we have to compare ourselves with the great people (in terms of thinking and knowledge) who have accomplished many more than us. This is the only way for you to get to the level that they are in.

I had a very interesting conversation with my husband just now, he said that one of his Syeikh mentioned that we shouldn't be debating about the hukm of organ transplantation as it has been approved by many syeikhs that it is halal... So I thought, if organ transplantation is considered as an old issue.. what more the issues of type of dressing or hijab? To me, it is a point to ponder. It is sad really to think of how the non-muslims are looking down at us!

Oh yeah.. finally, I got to settle my visa. After many months of procrastination.. I got it done! My husband accompanied me, so the whole process was much much easier... the officer said that my visa is not ready yet.. it is impossible because I had been applying for it since February! (For those who don't know me, every year, I had been paying for the fine due to the delay of continuing my visa.. hahaha) Then my husband explained that I had gone to collect the visa many times but had been turned down. Then she looked in her book and saw the status of my application.. which is approved of course.. But it was annoying how she said that it's not ready by just looking at my passport and not even checking it in the book.. mind you.. she was having her breakfast.. so I guess, she didn't like to be disturbed? It was already 10am at that time! So the question appears in my head again.. why are the muslims so behind? Everybody can answer that right?

Gotta go now. Don't want to be behind too.. haha.

Is there a perfect couple?

2007-05-19T22:06:00.000+03:00

"A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences."
-Dave Meurer-

I just love that quote.. and I truly agree with it. Being married takes a lot of patience, especially in the beginning of a marriage. I remember trying to fit in with the style of my new "room mate"! But it was all a lot of fun really, because we can learn each other's way of life.. eg. decorating a room.. organizing the cupboard and etc. My mum always says that the longer the marriage is, the better it gets... I can't agree with her more.

Anyway, I am so dead bored staying at home! However bored I am at home, I still don't want to go out for dinner or lunch. So far, I have turned down 2 offers to have dinner outside... I don't know why. Partly because my clothes are not ironed yet, as there are no classes, so the weekly routine of ironing my clothes during the weekend is off. This is the thing about study leaves, you have to set up your own schedule so that you live a normal student life and not some unemployed person's life... and you can fall into the trap if you don't write down a proper timetable.. well, for me at least. Maybe for other orgnized people it is pefectly fine, living a month of pure free time with tonnes of syllabus to cover... and yet, they still manage to get things done. Nowadays, there are many things to distract us as students.. DSL, Showtime cable tv.. too many to list down. I really look up upon those who can study 14-17 hours a day.. I don't know how they can keep the momentum going for a long time!

Hope I will use the best of my time during the study leaves.. Good luck to all!

Ophthalmology exam...

2007-05-15T13:05:00.000+03:00

Wow... what a relief, I just finished my ophthalmology round exam. Alhamdulillah it went very well, although I was kinda sad in the beginning because one of my answer was different from the others :-( . For one of the slides, I answered Neovascularization at the optic disc (NVD) because there were abnormal vessels at the disc. I did see that the margins of the disc were not clear, that could be due to papilledema but at the same time I thought, what were the abnormal vessels doing there. Most of my friends answered papilledema, while the minority asnwered glacomatous cup.. so that left me all alone answering NVD! Anyway, I got 9 out of 10.. still wishing I got the fullmark! Dr Zeinab El-Sanabary, my mum's friend assessed me.. I was lucky that she asked the things that I know, except for the types of astigmatism. Somehow my head went blank when she asked about it, I could only remember 2 out 3 types.. they are simple, compound and mixed astigmatism. Besides that, she asked some questions about strabismus (squint).. 2 weeks ago, she taught me the whole topic of strabismus, so I had no reason to not know what the answers! As she asked, she looked at me and gave a smile, I understood that smile.. it meant that I have to answer well, hehe. She was really nice.. and I will really miss her now that there is no more Ophthalmology.. until when.. I don't know.

This morning, before the exams, I had breakfast in front of the telivision, it was suppose to lessen my nervousness. I watched Nightline, news from the the american tv. It featured an ex-American Army Interrogator who was in Iraq previously. He told about his experience there and reasons that made him leave Iraq. According to him, the Iraqian detainees were badly tortured.. and through his daily experience of torturing people, it turned him into a mean man, a man who felt guiltless when it comes to hurting others. Then one day.. he reached his breaking point when he was instructed to torture one of the detainee by making him strip and make sure that the detainee doesn't sleep all night.. so that the next day, he will be disoriented. Then it made him realize that he has stop doing what he is doing, so he went back to America.. and now he is telling the people in his hometown about what happened. I was really happy to hear this.. and I really hope his words will spread and make everyone realize what is happening. I am very sure that it is easier for the Americans to believe what their own people are saying.

I need to continue sleeping... I just woke up for lunch!

The Birthday Girl

2007-05-11T23:49:00.000+03:00

Happy 23rd Birthday to you, Lina...

May you have a wonderful birthday ok.. miss you loads. Don't forget to claim for your special present!

Mak & Ayah are back!!!

2007-05-11T23:12:00.000+03:00

My parents are finally back from their 'honeymoon' in Bali. I really missed them because I couldn't contact them through out their holiday there, I received their SMSs but they didn't get my replies. Even worse was that when I called them, they didn't pick up the phone. It cannot be denied that I somehow felt abandoned then, hehe. I chatted with them and shared photos... I am so happy for them, my mum said that it's the best holiday because she went there with no responsibilities on her shoulders... no conferences to think about. Usually they travel when my mum has a conference, and my dad will always accompany her.. but not this time as it's a 'real' holiday.

Erm... my sister, Tiyah is coming this 24th May insyallah. I haven't seen her for ages.. I last saw her August 2006. She's having her professional exams now, and as soon as she finishes her exams, she will come here. Both of us are really looking forward to having her around, as she keeps people around her entertained and keeps me laughing all the time too. I have tonnes of plans for her, and that includes helping me with my studies.. I plan to discuss what I read with her, just like in the old school days. Tiyah was in my class so we used to study together and then discuss back what we read. One thing she is very good at is to come up with formulas to help us remember things, some of them are really funny ones! We were very very close... we were like best friends actually... that's why she was very sad when I left for Egypt. Both of us felt each other's loss... She was always complaining of how she has not best friend in school since all of her friends are already paired. Now we are used to having each other part and we also found ways to keep each other close... through SMS of course! I hope I will spend maximum time with her when she comes because she is the manja type so maximum attention is required... she's the last one, and also a daddy's girl! I really like looking at how my dad spoils her... it's really cute.

Ohyeah... forgot to mention that it was raining today, and you don't see much rain here in Egypt. When it rained, I stood quite long at the balcony to smell the rain, it has been so long since I smelt the rain.. I love it! It was very refreshing.

I am feeling sleepy right now....

Adobe Photoshop

2007-05-10T21:43:00.001+03:00

I had spent half of my day trying out the Adobe Photoshop program. The features are really hard to use, I guess it's because it's meant to be for professional photographers but anyway, I spent hours trying to figure out everything. Some made the pictures worse... almost every photos that I edited was sent to Faaiqah because it was under her advise that I downloaded the program. Erm.. should I thank her or should I blame her for the time wasted??? ... hehe.. Just kidding ok Faaiqah. For those who's reading this and knows something about the program, do share the tips with me ok. I am still trying to get the best out of the programs. When I adjust the lighting of the photos, it will make it a bit blur and not sharp.. so can anybody help?

This is the unedited version.

This is the touched-up version.

I am waiting for my Mc Donalds to come, I ordered chocolate sundae.. anohter sin committed today. I was suppose to consume less than 1500 calories today. Now, I have no reason to have the non-sense snacks since I am categorized under 'sedentary type of lifetsyle' as I don't go out for classes anymore. I haven't paid for my gym membership yet and that makes it worse because I am not disciplined enough to work out at home. I am too lazy to go to the bank and withdraw some money so that I can renew my gym membership fee. That's one thing I hate about myself, I procrastinate on the most important things in life. Guess what people.. my visa is still not renewed!!! Since I came to Egypt, every year, I will have to pay the fine for the delayed renewal of my visa. I hope to get it done this Saturday and also withdraw my Petronas allowance from the bank. One thing I am relieved about is that I have paid my 4th year tuition fee and get my 4th year matrix card. I had been using my 2nd year matrix card for 2 years now. Haha.

I think I will sleep late tonight, I just had my thick coffee... hope it helps me to stay awake all night! In the summer time, it's nicer to study at night as it is cooler.

Cheers!

Goodbye to 4th year

2007-05-09T21:12:00.000+03:00

Today, my 4th year lectures has officially ended.. and honestly I feel really sad because I wont be attending Ophthalmology lectures and tutorials anymore. I don't know why I like ophthalmology so much.. is it because of the influence from my mum? Or is it because of my own interest??? My mum doesn't push me into liking the subject (duh.. who would right?) but I can see for through my own eyes that it is the only thing that is not disgusting.. hehe. Not like ENT! I had a hard time during my ENT rounds.. can you imagine going to classes and looking at the patient's ear wax. Mind you.. the people here really don't care about their personal hygiene. What's funny is that during the ENT round, we didn't see any lady doctors in the department. I guess it is not a suitable field for women.. my mum said, in ENT, you study about the secretions of the body. Hehe. But.. some people may find it ok, but not for me although I try as hard as I can to like the subject. But then again, it's all about mind setting right.. if I think that I will not like the subject, no matter how hard I try, I will not enjoy studying it.

We were supposed to have a lecture on the retina... I was looking forward to it, but when we arrived at the lecture hall, the door was closed. According to the 'pakcik' there, he said that the doctor came at 11.30 am and saw that there were no students, so he left. The lecture was suppose to start at 12! So why on earth did he come that early.. besides, at 11.30am, all of us were still in the clinic! We waited until 1pm, just incase the doctor changed his mind... however, it was very disappointing, he didn't turn up. But we had fun while waiting, Lina was asking Faaiqah and me questions related to ophthal. It was funny the way she asked because she asked in a confident way.. in a way that you thought she knew the answer, but she wanted to test us. So both of us answered.. and she didn't say anything, we assumed that the attempts were right.. but when we asked, she said she doesn't know herself!! Hehe... Anyway, thanks to Lina and Faaiqah, because insyallah, I will remember what we discussed just now. It's so much easier to remember when you discuss rather than reading on your own.

Ok... this is all for now.

Taxi taxi

2007-05-08T16:56:00.000+03:00

Alhamdulillah.. I didn't wake up late today, unlike the other days of this week. Yesterday, I woke 10 minutes to 9 and the class was supposed to begin at 9am. But knowing how the system works here, I didn't rush. I arrived just in time until the doctor enters the class.. I was very glad I went to the class although I woke up late because the doctor taught about the orbit, and this topic is not taught in the big lecture hall as the doctor didn't show up! I hate it when that happens because it would make me loose my motivation. Anyway, as for today, we were taught by the head of department of Ophthalmology, Dr Taha Labib. He was a very nice man... and I enjoyed his lesson too. He taught us about the important concepts that were crucial in understanding Glaucoma. He even offered to do a revision class this Sunday in spite of how busy he is with the university! May Allah bless him for his thoughtfulness...

Today I went back by taxi, and I took the taxi from the university's back door (ie. Manyal door).. and this is something I had never done before. Thanks to Lina, she told me that it is easier for me to take it from there. She was right! I asked the first taxi that passed by the street and the driver straight away agreed. If only I had known this trick earlier, I would have saved a lot of energy and time because usually, I would walk for about 20 minutes to find a taxi. It wasn't a problem for me to walk, but now it's summer.... can you imagine walking under the sun in mid afternoon??? Sometimes, when I reach home, my nose starts bleeding. I don't know what is wrong with me, but my nose bleeds easily, especially in the hot weather. But I am always thankful to Allah because it didn't bleed while I was walking or in the taxi, if not.. it would have been a bigger problem! I don't carry tissues in my bag...!!!

I want to sleep now.....

Hot day

2007-05-07T16:06:00.000+03:00

I just came home.. it was boiling outside! The temperature today is about 36 degrees celcius, almost the body temperature. I went to Bostan Street Mall just now with Faaiqah, I was looking for a webcam. I wanted to buy a webcam from one of the Kasr El-Ainy street shops, but they didn't have any! I thought I had seen lots of webcams from the shops on that street. But this is life, when you want something, it's always not there, but when you don't want it, you keep bumping into it all the time! Haha. It was nice of Faaiqah to offer herself to accompany me to Tahrir, I think she knows that I wanted a webcam so much. For those who's wondering, why on earth would I want a webcam when my husband is here with me.. well, it's for me to chat with my parents. We chat very often, it's almost like everyday! I really feel close to them, it's just that I cannot touch them.. that's all. We chatted so often, and each session is roughly about 3 hours... we even reached the point where we don't know what else to say.. haha! But I enjoy it all the time. I miss them so much. Right now, they are on a honeymoon break to Bali, Indonesia. What's romantic about this vacation is that my dad planned the whole thing! How sweet of him, right??? I hope they are enjoying their time right now, especially to my mum. She's so busy... and I hope that this break will give her the rest she needed. She was telling me about the spas in Bali, I guess they have the best spas there.. the whole concept originated from Bali after all.

Abang watching football at the Showtime booth in Carrefour.

Anyway.. moving on to my life. Well, one thing for sure, we're not going anywhere for the time being. We went shopping last night, in Carrefour Maadi. Nothing interesting happened, it was the usual routine shopping that I do.. looking for healthy foods! Then we went to Cilantro for a drink. We stayed there until 12am! I was worried incase there were no taxis to bring us back home, but there were.. of course!! Oh yeah.. I planned to stay for Raya this year. I will go back for the summers and stay until Raya. I haven't spent my Raya with my family for 4 years now... and I hope we will have one of the best Rayas ever... Amin..

I really have to start studying, my round exam is next week....

2007-05-04T23:02:00.000+03:00

I had not done anything beneficial today except for cooking for my husband. I had been watching Datin Diaries the whole day, hahaha. I found it on youtube. No matter how much time I have wasted my free friday, I still think that it is one of my best days because I spent 80% of it with Abang Fauwaz. We watched the Datin Diaries series together! Haha. It must have been the stress of the exams that made us watch such Malaysian dramas. Then I cooked for him.. and later chatted with Mak and Ayah for about 3 hours. We used Skype voice chat thing, and it was free of charge. Surprisingly it was very clear! You know how free things are.. they are usually of low quality, hehe.. Not for Skype! But the annoying thing is that I can messages from the desperate unknown people wanting to improve their English.. Get a life and go to language centres ok if you want to improve your language skills!!! Haha. Another thing that I did was to write down my goals. This is another thing which I had been procrastinating since the last 2 months. I had been listening to Steven Covey's audiobooks lately, and the first step he said was to write down your goals and plans to achieve them.. and I must say that it's the last thing I did. Silly me! I don't know why I didn't write them down, it's not that I don't have one (I have loads of them mind you), it's just that I always thought that I had them in my mind all the time. S.Covey did say in one of his audiobooks that by not writing down your goals, it's just like a dream because you wont have your plans set out. That is true. At this very moment, I am so not motivated and feel so exhausted. I'm in the plateau stage right now. I know that if I go to sleep straight away, it will be like yesterday again, haha. I hate it when this happens. I hate it when I wake up in the morning feeling guilty for not completing my planned-tasks. I used to have my list of tasks to be completed written before I go to sleep.. but I don't know why I am not as disciplined as I was before. I must change! So.. tonight, I will finish reading retinal detachment before I go to sleep. Insyallah tomorrow morning, I will wake up early and pray Subuh together with Abang.... * I will update on how I did ok.. haha.

Raudah Rocks

2007-05-04T12:14:00.000+03:00

Raudah is the best.. she rocks. She has the brains.. looks.. personality.. basically, the perfect package.

Miss u Raudah. This entry is a tribute to you.

Chasing the dream...

Test

NEW

Revision Class

Neat!

After 6 years

My husband waiting for me

First Tarawih

How to create good study habits for exams

How to Create Good Study Habits for Exams

[edit]Steps

[edit]Tips

[edit]Warnings

Study Leave

Our last lecture with Dr Sherif El Hawary

Primary Toxic Goitre

Painful Facial

Summary of last week

mosquitoes

ECG

Tribute to Hajar

Missing home

Bunked off school

My workout summary

I have no idea

First visit at the General Surgery OT

Venous Ulcer

Why should I stretch?

Silly Dilemma

What happens when I feel like eating?

First day of the month

Enjoyable evening

Dry cough

Tag - 7 facts about me.

Eat that frog

Berita Harian Online - Article on my mom.

Freedom Writers

City Stars

6th year

Ramadhan in Malaysia

Tell Her Today

The “pretending” game

Myths

Cookies

Homer!

Happy Mothers Day

Blog hopping

Appointment with the ENT surgeon

Almost the end

Surgery exam.

3 reps of weights?

Dr Zuhaili

Enough is enough

Living in the dark

SURGERY!

Remaining positive

Why Men Love Bitches

My Abandoned blog

As Requested...

5-minute beauty test

IQ level?

Will I be a multimillionaire?

I'm a Bree now?

Which Desperate Housewives Character Are You?

I'm a Charlotte?

Which Sex and the City Character Are You?

My Celebrity Hotspot

Am I a Paris or Lindsay?

Glad to be back!

Futsal

Kinokuniya

Bad Dreams

Life after 4 years of marriage

Terengganu break

Back from Cairo

Mukhsin

forensic

The Crap Showtime Arabia!

Can't think of a subject

Are you romantic or realistic?