Old Things and New

Hey semua (kalau ada)!

 I know its been a while, but I'm going to rehash my old excuse of being busy, if you'll excuse me for it one more time. Haha. So I've got quite a bit to say this time around- alot of things have happened since I came back to Kelantan and boy, has it been a ride. Pasang telinga k, err...ke mata. Whatever.

 Hmm agaknya event yang paling aku ter-excited nak cerita pasal CONVEX. CONVEX tu satu event yang dia org buat kat USM Penang, lebih kurang nak celebrate students yang dah graduate (ni personal guess). So our little band from Kubang Kerian set off on a 8 hour trip via bus convoy to get to the main campus. Even though sebenarnya malas nak pi sebab kena buat kerja, ada sebahagian diri aku yang excited sebab nak pi Penang. Sesampai je main campus tu, memang tak tersia lah keterujaan aku. Campus dia memang hebat, memang rasa macam duduk kat universiti lah. Besar, so ada je bas yang lalu every few minutes. Kalau takda panas Malaysia, memang rasa macam kat tempat lain.

 Petang tu dah kira start pening kepala la, dengan terus kena set up booth la apa semua. Huissh banyak caraban masa tu =.= Tapi in the end it all went well- our booth was set up, the people in the expo were ready and we started promoting. Apparently our promotion worked wonders, as our main expo hall was packed by lunchtime. I even got to see my grand-uncle and his family! All in all it was interesting, especially satu part ni yang melibatkan aku, seorang pakcik dan pandangan dia terhadap personaliti aku...yang tu aku cerita lain kali je lah =.=

 We got a day off on day 3, so we decided nak pi jalan-jalan la. Of all the places in Penang, we somehow ended up at a vintage toy museum. Eh, whatever works :P It was pretty cool, in fact the whole place was eye-candy for someone who loves old things, such as yours truly.I bought some old-timey stuff, and had an overall brilliant time.

 Though, being in Penang allowed me to discover something: that I'm one sentimental little sad-sack.

 Sure I like keeping souvenirs, who doesn't? But now, I've become increasingly aware of my inability to throw anything away. For me, the things we are given are the ones which are most valuable. I even kept this:

flower in book cliche

 A flower plucked by some random roadside by one of my new friends, who shall remain anonymous on this blog. Ah well, so I'm sentimental- sue me. Though even though I adore the old, I'm still open to the new. Heck, its half the reason I join these things in the first place: you never know when you'll find your next good friend :) Tu lah benda yang aku paling suka pasal join event, kalau korang nak tau.

I'M NOT EVEN SORRY

So other than that, it's also noteworthy that as of Year 2 in the MD programme, I've been allowed to bother patients in the hospital. In fact, I paired up with one of my PBL-mates to handle our first patient. Well, sort of patient. We had to interview and do a physical examination on a patient, and I got to handle the former. On a list of most harrowing experiences, interviewing a patient is probably somewhere between riding a roller coaster and going for my JPA interview. I choked abit, and left out alot of major points. That meant I had to go back and ask follow up questions, and bother that poor makcik some more.

Its a good thing out patient was so sporting. Makcik tu cool je, siap cerita itu ini. Yang paling tak boleh blah time aku tengah interview, dia ada kecek something kat aku tapi tak paham. Nampaknya aku buat muka blur masa tu, so dia gelakkan aku sebab tak paham bahasa kelantan. Baiklah, noted makcik. Saya akan mengaji kecek kelate lagi =.=

 Ooookkaaayyy...so I guess that all I got for now. Sorry for the rushed picture collage, I promised someone I'd have this up by today. Haha. Anywhoo...tu je la perkembangan buat masa kini, I'm not sure when I'll be back next, so till then, bye semua :)

Achievement Unlocked!

 Hey ya'all....first off I'd like to wish a happy Ramadan to my Muslim friends, and I hope this month brings peace and good vibes to us all. And for my non-Muslim friends, I hope life is treating you guys well in general haha.

I don't play XBox, so don't judge the title. I, however, did manage to scrape through my finals and get to 2nd year of med school. Hoorrah! It was bad enough waiting for the results after the brutal exam (cuba describe features of a rib. A RIB) but the real icing on the cake was how they let us know our results. Kita semua kena duduk kat dewan kuliah tu, and one by one nama-nama yang pass kena panggil. Kalau takda nama, takda rezeki la :/ Its not as bad for those whose names come earlier on the list, but not so much for yours truly, at no. 167. It gets progressively more nerve-wracking as they progress through the ever-shortening list.

 My hands trembled as they were assailed by waves of numbness, and my heart beat at about a million miles per hour. Akhirnya, bila my name was called, I felt a relief so great it felt as though I had just stepped out of the toilet. Heck, I even had to ask people, "Memang nama aku kan tadi?". After confirming for the upteenth time that it was, in fact, my name, I finally let my parents know with a sweet and simple text. "PASSED," I typed, and hit send. Alhamdulillah, dapat jugak membanggakan diaorg kali ni-I'm just glad that I didn't let them down. And also congratulations to all my friends who made it through. We all worked our asses off for it, so I'm glad that our labors bore fruit. Great job guys!

 Although, it wasn't happy endings for everyone. Sadly, we won't be seeing quite a chunk of our batch next year because some of them had to repeat. Our deputy dean said that we had one of the worst performances in a long time, but none of us really cared about that. I just thought, ' I don't mind pass cukup-cukup makan, tapi nak sedekah markah lebih boleh tak?'  The loss of comrades really is something. Some of them are taking it really well, and others not so much. I hope you guys are doing ok, and just know that your friends are still here. Hey, just think of how terer your basics will be after another year :)

 But, dear reader(s), I'm sorry for making this post about me (secretly not sorry) so I'll leave y'all with this. A few things I've learnt when preparing for exams and waiting for the inevitable results:

• get motivated. A lack of motivation is a dangerous thing to have. This is speaking from experience, as well as seeing others struggle with it. Get someone to cheer in your corner, your parents, a friend, a significat other. If all else fails, think of the big guy upstairs.
•  get a sparring partner. They'll help keep you on track and help you keep to your schedule. There's something about college life, like a dense, lazy atmosphere that actually prevents people from studying (is this making any sense?) so a sparring partner can give you the push you need
• jaga diri elok-elok. As in, makan, minum and kesihatan. Nobody wants to get KO'd by a fever during study week.
• snack. Chewing helps stave off the sandman, plus the sugar gives you energy
• jangan dekat dengan wi-fi. Bila dah dapat internet tu mula lah FB, 9Gag, dan yang sewaktu dengannya. Aku sendiri pun, hantu Buzzfeed jadi dari pengalaman sendiri aku bagitau, jangan online waktu study!
• stress time study week, chill time exam. After all, kan dah usaha dengan sebaiknya, so after study week, chill during the days of the exam (chill meaning don't push too hard) and go bananas after the exam if that's what your tired heart desires

  Phew I guess that's all for now, I mean, I don't want to sound too preachy haha. So anyways I guess I just wanted to say how grateful I am for this. Thank you God, thanks mama & papa and thanks to my friends. You know you each had your part in dragging me through this :p 

Till next time peeps.

ONWARDS TO SECOND YEAR!

I Miss My Superpowers

                                                         




  Hey peeps. First of all, sorry to disappoint but those aren't actual superpowers. <Gasp!> I know, right? Tu actually a video project yang my buddies and I kena buat time sekolah dulu. I'm the one with the sword(read: most awesome). Time tu kitorang memang terpengaruh gila ngan Bleach, so keluar la pedang ngan pistol ngan sumpit tu haha...

   As absurd s the video is, it kinda shows how we felt back then; that school wasn't too big a part of school life. Back then we superpowered students could make it on last-minute work, and we didn't have to spend every available second studying. How times change. Nowadays I feel like Superman after taking a kryptonite bullet.

 But it would seem that most people would feel this way at some point. We can't be immortal forever; and if there's anything to take away from this is that we can't grow complacent. Things that can get tougher often will, and its just part of growing up for us to rise to the occasion every time that happens. So for now, I have to dig deep to see through my next biggest challenge. I just wish it could sound cooler that 'exams'. How mundane.

  Seriously though, I could really use some superpowers right now. But Thaq, why are you thinking such things? Why? Because I have my finals coming next week, that's why! As you (whoever you are) are probably aware by now, everytime I have something big coming up this page is where I'll be, trying to shake my fears through writing. As Nick Carraway said, "Writing gives me solace." But I finally am getting sorta scared right now. I mean, ye la, memang dah berusaha kan, tapi still ada banyak lagi yang belum cover, or worse; ter-miss. Tau kan? benda kecik-kecik yang kita terlepas pandang, and bila terpapar dengan gamilang kat kertas ujian tu, terasa nak facepalm sebab last week kata, "Hmmm...macam sikit je, tak keluar kot." Anyways, wish me luck guys, this'll be my first big exam as a 1st year, and the one that'll decide whether or not I move on to Level 2. This is the big boss fight at the end of the stage, after I've (just barely) beaten all the mini-bosses before. Wish me luck, everyone.

 <Sigh>
 
I wish I had super-memory or telepathy or something. I mean:

LOL I'm screwed

An. Exercise in Storytelling Pt.4

Ok dear readers, this is the final part of my serial story. Enjoy ;)

What Makes Me Tick?

 Someone asked me a question recently, one that I failed to answer. She asked me something that was so profoundly simple, and yet so incredibly deep that I didn't know the answer to it. It was like casting a bucket into a bottomless well.

"Thaqief, kau suka apa?"

 I jokingly answered, "Kau," but at that point I knew that I joked about it because I couldn't come up with an answer. So she pressed on.

 "Betul-betul la...suka benda apa?"

 Clever girl; she had me stumped. I like alot of things, cars, gadgets, books, roti canai, gelangs, writing, computers, food, tea-time, movies, old buildings, photography, discovering things, meeting people, having new experiences....roti canai. But these are abstract things (except roti canai, the one solid thing in my life), not something concrete. None of these things are anything that could form my centre. Batman has bats, Superman has that big S and she has strawberries. I know I keep mentioning food alot, but that sounds like kinda a stupid thing to have at the nexus of your very being...

 But I guess its something that everyone should have; that one central glue that holds every fibre of your being together. Some have cooking, cars or computers among other things. It's good I guess; and I know how anime this sounds, but that one thing could form the nexus of your entire personality. It keeps you focused, and grounded and motivated. In short, it's a driving passion that pulls you through even the worst day.

 So, intereseting question, and one that'll take a while to answer. I don't know if it means that I'm boring, or unfocused or whatever, but what I do know is that I need to find it, that something that holds me together, whose influence will perfuse everything that I do. Wish me luck, ya'll.

I'm Back(An Exercise in Storytelling Pt.3)

 Hheeeeeeeyyyyyyy everyone. I'm back! Man, I haven't been on this page in like forever. How do you like the new look? It's been a busy few weeks, it has, and I regret to say that I haven't been able to update the blog during that time. But no matter, now that I have some free time I'm here to dazzle my follower(s) with the next installment of my little experiment. Ok, so i'll cut the crap and get back to our story. Now if only I could remember where we left off...

Kejap Ea- The Hospital Diary of Group 4

On the morning of 16.1.2013, SGD Group 3A waited in the lobby of the HUSM Medical Department along with Group 3B for their scheduled Hospital Attachment slot for the day. It was 8 ‘clock and round five minutes passed before Dr. Hanif came out to greet us, later showing us to one of the tutorial rooms where we were seated to wait his further instruction. After taking attendance, we were split into seven groups of two or three. We toured the wards, dropping of the small groups to their designated chaperone doctors as we went.

 Our little trio, consisting of Nuralia Najwa, Fadhlin Sakina and myself were left under the watch of Dr Azleena in the female medical ward, Wad 7 Utara. Dr Azleena was at that time also supervising a Posting Group of Fifth Year Medical Students on their ward rounds. After a brief introduction, we joined the group, observing the morning routine of a doctor , our white coats allowing us to fit in a little better, despite the fact that we’ve only been here four months. We observed for a while, taking in the atmosphere of what it must feel like to be a Fifth Year, or a house officer.