Assalamualaikum and good morning guys,

How are you guys doing? hopefully everyone is having a great time in this blissful holy month of Ramadhan.

Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying regarding Ramadan, “Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven.”

First of all, i would like to extend my since apology for being so lazy to update this blog although i think very few people actually read it. 

Since my last post which was months ago, lots of thing happened. 

-I finally managed to pass my final medical examination as an undergraduate.

-Visited one of the best town in Ireland, Killarney for 4 days and 3 nights. Travelled back to Dublin a day before my graduation.

-Hiked up one of the highest peak in Ireland- Carraauntoohil while i was in Killarney.

-Attended the conferring dinner with the majority of my classmates the night before the conferring ceremony.

-Attended the conferring ceremony for RCSI class of 2012 on 6/6/2012.

-Returned back to Malaysia; unexpectedly for good on the 10th of June 2012.

-Met lots of friends especially in Penang Medical College (PMC)

-Visited a few places in Malaysia including Langkawi Island, Penang, and Perhentian Island with my buddies.

-Attended the PMC clas of 2012 conferring ceremony.

-Dealt with Ministry of Health, Malaysian Medical Council and SPA regarding the job application process.

-Eat lots of foods and gain/losing weights.

-Attended a 2nd wedding ceremony in 2012. This time it is between Ihsan and Farah in Sungai Siput, Perak.

-Visited the vets. because my cat had a touch of fever. Forced 'Tompok' to take the meds.

-Etc.

So, that sort of summarise everything major that had happened. 

I'm kinda thinking about stop blogging actually. No real reason but definitely because I think I will not write that much any more once I start working.

I will have my job interview insyaAllah within a few days in Putrajaya. Hopefully everything will go well. I actually haven't done much study since May, so the momentum just isn't there any more.

The thoughts of going to library has been in my mind since last week but I was yet to enter the Alor Setar public library. I actually went there yesterday only to find out that it was actually close. Probably because yesterday is the first day of Ramadhan. So, I definitely will have to go there today. 

I guess what I'm going to do is just to leave it like this. Whenever I feel like to write, I'll jot down a few stuff once in a while. This will definitely be like the malay saying, "hidup segan mati tak mahu" literally translated into lazy to live the life but do not want to die. Can ah? :P

I'll write more if there are nny major updates or when I am too bored.

For now, enjoy Ramadhan, make full use of it to seek repentance, find the truth in yourself, increase the faith and stay good. It is a month full of rewards, it will be a great loss if you just let it pass by like the other months.

Sahih Bukhari :: Book# 31 :: Hadith# 127

Wassalam.

It all happened last Wednesday (7/12/2011). The date would probably be hard to remember but definitely I will treasure the experience. First time ever performing a surgery! I stick a scalpel into a lump of a golf-ball's size on someone's neck to remove the abscess and on another occasion, I also removed some adenoids tissue. Alhamdulillah.

Although before this I assisted in a few procedures including caesarean section, popliteal artery bypass, anterior resection of the bowel and a few more, this one was special to me as I held the scalpel on my own and making the incision myself. A very rare experience for medical students I think.

The consultant ear nose and throat (ENT) surgeon first asked me if I ever seen an abscess and perform incision and drainage. While looking straight at him, I answered that I'd seen pericolonic (around the large bowel) abscess but never done any kind of incision and drainage. The next thing was very surprising as he asked me if I want to do any surgery today. What sort of answer would you expect if you ask someone who really into surgery? Definitely a YES and from that moment, there was no way back. Since most of the ENT procedures don't require a full scrub, I put a surgical mask, washed my hand (scrubbing kind of wash) and a size 7 surgical glove.

I sat next to him while he talked me along the way. A small 1cm incision was made inferior to the angle of mandible area by me although at the end he guided my fingers and push it deeper because it wasn't deep enough to drain the abscess.

Honestly I was quite scared since it was very close to major artery (the carotid artery) of that 7 months old baby. Once the abscess started to drain, the rest was just simple squeezes to force the abscess out. Quite a lot of it came out. No wonder the lump was a size of a golf ball! Within 15 minutes, the procedure completed as no stitch required since it was small and a drainage tube was inserted into the lump so that the remaining abscess could drain later. We thanked the nurses and the anaesthetist and the surgeon then congratulated me and said 'you can now tell your friends that you performed a surgery'. I'm not sure if they will ever believe it', he added. ^__^ 

Before that procedure, he actually showed me a bilateral (both side) appendicectomy and also adenoidectomy in which he allowed me to do (adenoidectomy) when we saw the same case after that. This was also relatively  a simple procedure although it carries quite a big risk of bleeding. Adenoidectomy is basically a scrapping of the adenoids tissue on your pharynx. No cauterization even required for adenoidectomy in most cases.

The surgeon was so cool and I can't wait to sit with him again next Wednesday hoping that I will have more chances to perform some minor surgery! Hopefully ^__^

A long journey always starts with a small step. Pray for my success guys.

Long since i last scribble something here. sorry about that and million thanks to those who keep coming. please do read previous entries if nothing new posted. Hopefully something will be some benefit to you insyaAllah.

Quick update about my life.

The weather

1. Ireland as a whole were not prepared for almost anything (in term of weather). Whenever there is a slightly heavier rain, the city will quickly get flooded. Every year when they have a snow, all the transport system down as if they were never there in the first place. Buses and everything just stop working. Plus, they would always have water shortage immediately after the snow.

2. Last week, there was a sudden flood due to 'heavy' rain (nothing like heavy rain in Malaysia). The shopping centre in Dundrum was flooded because the riverbank or something failed to retain the water. It also cost 2 life. A gardai  (police) officer and a nurse.

Working

1. I am planning to stay here insyaAllah once I'm finish with my degree but am not 100% sure about it yet. Many have been talking about staying here. Not to mention some that hate to stay here and wanted to go out as soon as they can. Some feel that they were treated as 2nd class citizen and some are just because they feel that they could do more money somewhere else. As for me, i have my own reason not to rush to go back to Malaysia but again, it is not something definite. Family would be one of the greatest influence in the final decision.

2. I got approval to apply to Malta Foundation Program. Another destination that i think I will consider going if given chances. Thanks to Wanie for her help with the essay that I completed in half n hour. Believe it or not, I managed to slip through although I missed the deadline by one day.

Friends
1. I am glad that I met more people this year including some of my malaysian friends whom i was never close to them before. At least i know that a few of them are sort of from Kedah. :)
2. One of them once questioned me about hating the rain. She said "macam mana ni, tak lama lagi nak jadi suami orang dah. Hujan sikit pun takut!" I replied just by smiling. She definitely have no clue about me if she really mean it.


Study

1. All i can say is i have a difficulty to focus on books. I bought many new books but haven't manage to finish any of them yet.

2. 10 minutes reading and i already yawning.
3. The progress is superbly slow now.

future

I hope Allah will keep protecting you (whomever you will be)

Something made my heart tickle whenever i see a proposal video anywhere on the net. Maybe the time has come for me as well?

pen torch. LOL. JK
Pen-off

wassalam

*updated*

Hello Marta,

How are you lately? how have you been keeping on with the two children that you are taking care of? I hope that you are in the pink of health. First of all i would like to say that i am very sorry for keeping it long before i write this entry. I know that i promised it to be a few weeks ago but sometimes i just don't have the mood to write. Again, I'm so sorry. 

First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that somehow we were destined to meet again after the short initial introduction on the plane. As u said last time, everything that happen on our journey to Dublin was a coincidence. The plane sit, the last person going into the place etc. It definitely is a coincidence! However, I would say, serendipity. (Do watch that serendipity movie okay!) Haha. I never thought that I would met another medical student in such a situation. Anyhow, thanks for turning up on that day in front of St. Stephen green shopping centre. Honestly, I did not expect to see you again after the day at the airport. It was quite unusual (if could say) for me and you (i assume) to meet someone that we barely know on a 'date'. Oh, and it was at 8am! :-P

Anyhow, i really hope that you enjoy Dublin back then although the weather was not on our side. Being a tour guide for a few hours with you was really a pleasure. Hopefully you will be able to give some guide to your mom when she come to visit you later. Also, please told her that i am very sorry if i had cause her a great worry last time because i fully understand your situation; being a single daughter of the family, away from home etc. I am glad that the day went well and you can continue working as a babysitter with Alan's family. He is such a nice employer. ^__^

Regarding the lunch last time, i think it was one of the best i ever had. Obviously not the food as i just had a slice of pizza and you with your homemade sandwiches. I would definitely try that again. Never thought that eating on the riverside's bench would be wonderful except that we had to witness that couple fighting. That guy was such a loser. I would definitely find another place for us to eat if I was not rushing for the prayer. Hopefully it was a good experience for you as well.

People say that bringing out topics such as religion, politics and history were a bad start for the first date but i think we proved it wrong! Definitely it was fine if your date also has lots of interest in it! Hehe. I hope I was able to clear a few misunderstanding about Islam that you had and not too corny. Obviously Islam was not too foreign for you as you already knew about Ramadhan (fasting month), prayer and so on. Maybe after this you can do more reading about this world fastest growing religion! I would definitely sit and talk about all these again if we ever had a chance to meet again in the future. or, even thru facebook. Haha. Well...I do have plan to go to Spain in the future and i reckon you can handle the distance between Lleida and Cordoba, do you? :-)

Okay, before I bored you more, I hope that you'll enjoy your stay in Ireland and reach the targets that you have in mind. May you continue doing all those charity works as well. I really envy the effort that you have! The world definitely need more future doctors like you. Keep in touch.

Bye...

Yours truly,

Muaz Adam

Malaysia.

Footnotes:
1. Last day of barcelona will be up within a few days weeks.

part 2 of the journey in Barcelona (edited*)

The Be Hostel sound that i stayed in has some disadvantage in term of power sockets inside the room. They only have them at one corner (at least in the room that i stayed in) although there were more than enough to be used by 10 person.

since I dont want to act awkwardly by arching over my newly met friend who was sleeping on the bed in order to get to the power socket, i decided to charge my phone in the common room area where the breakfast was served. 

Following the breakfast, i noticed something wrong. My skin was peeling badly especially on the nasal bridge and on the forehead. Probably because of the heat or maybe the sunburn. The next thing i did was i quickly went to the pharmacy and get the facial cleaner that help to de-skin the part that was peeling. quite costly since they dont have the regular Nivea, so i just bought a product from a brand that i never heard of which cost me almost 20 euro! pFFFT!

The 2nd day start at 10 am although i already awake since 8am. it was the 'free' tour guide conducted by a guy named Adam. He was from aussie. There were 2 different guides that happen at the same time. One is call Gaudi Tour and the other one is Gothic Tour. They do this twice every day, one in the morning and one in the evening. so, you can go to either one in the morning and the next one in the evening or the following day.

Famous restaurant. One of Messi's favorite. Specialize in snails cooking.

Picasso was accepted at a very young age here in this building. Some kind of arts university

Adam with the background of old Roman's wall

In my opinion, the good thing about this tour was that it brought you around the gothic part (old city) of barcelona and at the same time went through some interesting history of the history including where Mr. Christopher Columbus brought back some native american to barcelona and met Queen Isabella to tell her about the success of the mission. We were sitting on the stairs where it all happened some hundreds years ago while he went through the history. Plus, the tour also allow you to meet and interact with new people including a lady (sorry Mong. :P) from Malaysia who was actually enjoying her holiday in europe.

At lunchtime, we had a 3 course menu lunch at one of the restaurant in Plaza Real. It was very cheap. Less than 10 euro and you can get a proper 3 course menu with free water. :P Definitely it was a new experience for me as i rarely had any lunch experience as such. Oh, this place was also where all the 'magic' happen on my last night in Barcelona which i would tell more on the last part of the trip.

Lunch with Mong

So, at about 3pm, we both went back to each other hostel (after some quick strolling at the La Rambla) and have some rest before going out again at 4pm for another tour. The Gaudi Tour. This time, Ola (she is from Poland) guided us through the whole tour and we visited almost all the important work arts of the great architect, Gaudi. By going out with the tour group, you don't just see the arts but also know a little bit about them in which if you have great interest, you can visit again at your own pleasure although it would cost some amount of money. At least 10 euro. many are actually cost about 15 euro+. On this tour, i met Mickael, Fred and some other people. Below are some pics from the evening tour.

One more interesting part about this 2nd day was it somehow fall on the San Juan Festival. So, although it was only 6pm when the tour finished, many of us already headed towards the beach area where the celebration took place. In fact, two of the people from the tour already wore their beach shorts on the tour! As for me, I decided to go back to the hostel immediately after the tour, prayed asar and then went to the beach with the other group as Mong and Mickael decided to go for Tapas and something tour (more like a traditional dinner and some dancing show going on at the same time). it cost only 20 euro! ;p

So, as day went by (post quick kebab dinner), we eventually reached the beach at around 10pm. Initially there was only 4 of us just sitting on the beach and talking with the background of locals that keep lighting up the firecrackers. At about 12 midnight after the other finished enjoying their tapas and something-that-i-forgot-the-name, we all sit together in a group of about 10 people and started to enjoy the scenes. The Catalan really celebrate this event which some said was even merrier than the Christmas celebration (without the santa). They said it was considered as some sort of new year celebration which could be true as people did went to the beach with tents and barbecues and the most important of all, firecrackers and fireworks!

Apart from people skinny dipping in the Mediterranean and getting drunk, the rest were fine. We stay on the beach almost until 4am when everyone decided to go back as some  of us need to catch bus and flight to their next destination. Overall, it was fun just sitting and talking, sharing experiences and knowing a little bit more about everything and one another. :)
I slept soundly after performing the subuh (morning) prayer before begin the journey on my last day at Barcelona as a lone ranger . ^__^

p/s: I'll put more pictures later as those pics are on my other comp. wait for the FC barcelona, park gueil and last night dinner experience. bye..

Aku baru saja habis dengar kuliah online (KuOn) anjuran PPIMI yang disampaikan oleh Ustaz Erfino Johari melalui medium ustream tadi. Alhamdulillah, menarik sekali walaupun aku tertidur sekejap. Letih sangat hari ni barangkali. Oh, selamat tahun baru buat para muslimin dan muslimat. Semoga Allah memberkati usia kalian di tahun baru ini dan semoga tahun baru ini lebih bermakna dalam hidup semua.

Apapun, aku dapat ikut kebanyakan isi yang disampaikan, jadi untuk tu, aku nak kongsi la sedikit sebanyak apa yang aku dapat. Isu menarik la katakan, mesti la nak kongsi ye dak? Tajuk kuliah malam ni adalah "Would You Marry Yourself?". Kesimpulan tajuk ni adalah berkenaan refleksi. Itu yang aku rasa bila mula-mula kena tag dalam poster kuliah di facebook. ^____^ Bang! sekali rasa kena ketuk kepala.

Lebih kurang dua jam lebih jugak la dan sekitar 550 hadirin mendengar secara live dari secara cerok dunia. Alhamdulillah. Jepun, German, Ireland, UK, Jordan, Malaysia dan lain-lain. Ceramah bab kawin la katakan...sapa tak minat ye dak. Especially budak-budak universiti. Umur yang orang kata dah baya-baya boleh kawin dah.

1. Jangan terikut-ikut dengan cerita cinta karut di tv dan buku. Yes, it is interesting to watch, tapi we have to reflect either it gives an impression of reality of just a another good story for sell. Kadangkala, sebagai manusia, kita lupa akan realiti bilamana terlalu asyik dengan alam khayalan. Kalau baca buku The other history of malaysia, dalam tu si penulis ada cerita pasal reality dan macam mana orang sekarang kebanyakannya tak berpijak pada bumi yang nyata.

2. Belajar betul-betul pasal hukum hakam berkenaan nikah kawin. Aku pun still kena belajar walaupun dah pernah pergi kursus kawin masa tahun satu dulu. Hal ini penting supaya nanti takdak la yang tanya soalan pelik-pelik macam, sah atau tak nikah kalau ayah wanita tu takdak semasa akad dalam majlis yang sama. erk. Kawin memang seronok. Setakat yang aku perhatikan, takdak la yang tak hepi dalam tahun pertama kahwin tu. Tapi lepas dua tiga tahun, ada saja yang datang mintak tolong dengan aku yang single nih bila ada masalah. Expect problems and learn to deal with it.

3. Perkahwinan itu satu permulaan kepada sebuah kehidupan yang panjang. Ianya bukan penamat. Kawan aku faris cakap yang ni jugak. :P Yes it is a beginning. Kalau ikut ustaz, bilamana kita memulakan sesuatu yang baru, kadang-kadang kita tak pasti samada kita boleh atau tak. Masih ada sedikit kegusaran dalam diri, sama seperti masa nak belajar bawak kereta. Awal tu memang takut, tapi bila dah lama-lama, kita dapat sesuaikan diri dan akhirnya Alhamdulillah dapat bawak kereta dengan elok. Pengalaman aku sendiri, aku tak pernah plan nak ambil lesen motor dulu-dulu. Even masa first time bawak moto kat jalan besar, ketar kot tangan aku. Masa tu lepas SPM dan baru lepas ambik lesen kereta macam tu, lepas tu ayah aku still hantar aku pergi kerja ulang alik naik motor. One day, ayah aku suruh aku drive bawak dia balik which something yang bukannya aku tak pernah buat, cumanya tak pernah di jalan besar dengan kereta-kereta saling memintas kita. Tapi, bila sekali cuba, aku terus rasa ok, and lepas tu, ambik lesen dan dah merempit pun kat Alor Setar tu. Takde la aku lumba, tapi bawak laju-laju. Haha. Adik-adik, jangan ikut perangai ini yeh. Peace!

4. Untuk sampai ke alam perkahwinan, kita kena berusaha termasuklah membaiki diri sendiri.  Jangan mudah mengalah walaupun dah banyak kali gagal. Jangan tunggu sahaja kerana jarang orang dapat rezeki jatuh bergolek. Even Prince William dengan Kate pun lama berusaha. Haha, cakap pasal kisah diorang lagi. Kadangkala kita sukakan seseorang tapi malu-malu. Situasi ini tak hanya terpakai pada perempuan, tapi lelaki jugak. Jadi kena atasilah sedikit perasaan tersebut. Takdak la rugi apa sangat kalau kena reject melainkan kecewa sikit (ye ke sikit?LOL) dan malu ajelah. Pastikan individu yang nak dilamar tu boleh dipercayai agar tak dijadikan kita bualan orang ramai. Kalau masih rasa kita kena rendahkan kualiti diri sendiri untuk kawin, maknanya kita masih tak bersedia. Contohnya, "ala ustaz, saya nak yang jenis-jenis saya saja supaya saya tak terkongkong nanti".

5. Selain agama, aspek kewangan, keturunan dan kecantikan (sedap mata memandang) juga penting dalam memilih bakal pasangan hidup. Be realistic and not too demanding. Kita hidup di bumi nyata dan kenalah berpada-pada dalam meminta. Nak meminang, kena tengok (sekadar yang dibenarkan agama). Perlu juga rasa suka tersebut. Ustaz cakap itu penting dan rasanya, itu bukan sesuatu yang boleh dipaksa-paksa. Mungkin jugak boleh dibina bila dah berumahtangga ye dak? (dalam situasi sebelum kahwin tak pernah kenal rapat) ^__^. Just look at our parents perhaps or at least my mom and my dad. Hehe.

6. Cop cop tak terpakai (u know what i mean). Kalau nak, sila serius (jumpa family atau wakil urus). Bila bertunang, kurangkan berjumpa/berbual. Ustaz dulu pun cuma berutus surat, tapi kalau sekarang, email boleh ganti la ye dak? Satu lagi, tak perlu umum pada khalayak bila bertunang. Cukup cakap kita dah bertunang, tapi tak perlu dikhabarkan dengan siapa. Tahniah Shedot kerana dah bertunang. ^__^. Hal ini bagi menjaga nama kedua-dua belah pihak sekiranya pertunangan terputus. Bilamana kita kurang berurusan semasa bertunang, elemen kejutan akan wujud selepas berkahwin dan semua orang sukakan kejutan. Walaupun semua orang berharap yang baik-baik sahaja, namun begitu, kena reda juga dengan yang kurang baiknya kerana itulah suami/isteri kita. Bersyukur dengan nikmat kurniaan Allah.

7. Bincang dengan keluarga kerana reda kedua ibu bapa juga penting dalam rumah tangga. Nikah sah tanpa kebenaran ibu bapa sekalipun, namun dibimbangi akan menimbulkan masalah kelak. Jika anda dipaksa untuk berkahwin contohnya, bincang secara elok-elok. Hak memilih masih ada walaupun anda seorang wanita. Keputusan akhir di tangan anda. Dalam memilih calon, sentiasalah beristikharah dan memohon doa agar dikurniakan yang terbaik buat diri kita. Allah maha mengetahui yang terbaik untuk setiap hambanya.

Cukup setakat tu dulu. Itu sahaja yang aku ingat buat masa ni sebab tak catat apa pun tadi. Ustaz ada jugak bagi cara-cara atau ciri untuk memilih rasanya tadi tapi tak ingat. Kalau berkesempatan, lepas ni boleh la dengar kuliah ulangan di sini. Mudah-mudahan bermanfaat. Kalau rajin lagi, boleh dengan ceramah 15 bahagian berkenaan pwekahwinan oleh Sheikh Yasir Birjas. Yang ni memang complete, sama macam pergi kursus kawin. Link file-file tu dah mati, so kalau nak, boleh personal message dengan aku.

Wassalam. 

Jom sambung baca cauda equina syndrome O.O


P/s: Tahniah to Ibtisam Ismail dan Ariff Ahmad yang bakal melangsungkan perkahwinan hujung Disember ni. Dua-dua orang ni kawan lama aku masa sekolah rendah. Satu kelas. Dulu depa kena kacau-kacau saja, tapi last-last, kawin sungguh rupanya. Jumpa balik bila tah ha hampa dua ni? Lepas SPM kot. ya ka weh? Jodoh pertemuan di tangan Allah...another love story insyaAllah turning to reality.

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