Jimbo and family went window shopping for cars this morning. What they were looking for was a car that is below 2L in horsepower, affordable and comfortable. Because Jimbo is tall, the car in question would have to allow him to slide in without effort.

And here were the cars they looked at with the verdict:

Mitsubishi Triton 4×4 2.4A: Takes considerable effort to climb up into the car! At RM 95K ++, the price is a little steep.

Mitsubishi Triton Lite 2.5M: The new design is a great improvement from the previous model and it is a little longer too. The car is lower than what Jimbo is driving now and it takes a little bending to get in. The seats are not high enough. However, the price tag of RM 60K ++ is very attractive.

Chery Tiggo 2.0A: It looks like a Honda CRV from outside but feels like a Proton inside! The outside is impressive but the inside looks and feel cheap. The price tag of RM 89K ++ is, in Jimbo’s opinion, too pricey.

Chery Eastar 2.4AT: This one feels really comfortable to sit in. It didn’t take too much effort to slide into the driver’s seat. The interior feels and looks a lot better than the Tiggo. The interior is spacious. The price tag of RM 80K (after a RM 7K discount – anyone who offers such a wide discount must surely arouse suspicion!) is attractive. But Jimbo does not need such a long or big car.

Honda CRV i-VTEC (Auto): There wasn’t one at the show room but the price tag of RM148K made Jimbo think the money is better spent on other more important things.

At the Perodua showroom, Jimbo managed to get a glimpse of their soon-to-be-launched MPV and was not impressed.

The Perodua Nautica was too pricey for a ‘local car’.

And finally at the Toyota showroom, Jimbo liked what he saw:

Toyota Rush1.5G Auto

He and his family took it for a short spin. The drive was pleasant and the car climbed a small hill quite effortlessly. The interior was well designed and does not feel or look cheap. The seats were high enough and comfortable. The engine is a little louder than what Jimbo drives now but not deafening. The car felt just right and nice.

The price tag is RM 88,888!

Jimbo got his present car evaluated and they were willing to take it for RM 27K. Jimbo still owe the bank some money for his present car. All in all, he would have to cough out about RM 10K to buy the RUSH.

Decision time….

Continue driving the current car and sell it off as metal scrap in a few years.

Or get the RUSH, go into extreme poverty, sell off 1 kid, no new clothes for the next 7 years, do locum (again), donate blood in the black market, sell off half a liver, blah blah blah….

Really really tough decision….sigh….

Sat, 071109 @ 132

It’s OUT!

After waiting for an agonizing 5 months, Jimbo finally received the manuscripts for his original article which has been published in The Medical Journal of Malaysia! Yeah!

You can access the article inthe September issue of the MJM, Volume 64, Issue No: 3, page 233-235.

One little step forward to a bigger goal.

Whenever Jimbo takes a group of students for teaching in the ID clinic, inevitably they will ask this question:

“What is the risk of acquiring HIV from anal sex?” (not sure why it has to be anal…)

Jimbo has blogged about this before but here it is again, in a new and probably easier to understand chart:

But it’s a lot like Russian Roulette, of course – one can acquire the infection the first time round or not get it at all, despite many rounds!

So,  if you gonna do it, head on to the local 7-11 or pharmacy first and get some protection.

Thurs, 051109 @ 0740

You know you are getting old when:

1. Your 5 year old kid whizzes past you and never once lags behind you during a hike
2. He does not see the need to rest, catch a breath, drink or eat
3. He says he is bored because the going is so slow
4. He says YOU are so slow
5. He says he is not tired or thirsty or hungry when all you want to do is to lie down and die

And that was exactly what happened to Jimbo when he took Ryan for another hike up Broga Hill, one week after the previous one, because the latter wanted to ‘climb all the peaks’ as he did not get a chance to, the first time round.

This time, they did not go at an insanely early hour of the morning but rather, by the time Jimbo and son reached the foothill by car, the sun has already risen. Unlike the previous hike, this time there were only a handful of fellow hikers (it being a public holiday only in Negeri Sembilan) and therefore the hike was much more pleasant.

Here are some pictures from the hike:

It was a misty morning.

The crowd was sparse that day which was a good thing.

“Hurry up la, Daddy”, Ryan said to his half-dead very unfit father.

That’s Ryan’s feet on the upper left corner. It’s hard to capture a rapidly moving target!

View from the 3rd peak.

View from the 4th (and final) peak.

Thurs, 041109 @ 0800

This post is probably going to draw some flak from my more idealistic and virtuous fellow colleagues.

The fact is, you can survive pretty well as a new house officer and more importantly, get away with it!

We all probably have the experience with really really bad characters…you know… people like these:

1. They do not turn up for work or if they do, they turn up really late
2. They leave work on the dot at 5 pm or even earlier or simply could not be found
3. They do not carry out what is assigned to be their responsibilities
4. They are forever on MC on every Fridays or Mondays (and every other day in between)
5. They are always on emergency leave at the very last minute
6. They do not clerk patients who are newly admitted, pretending not to know that the patients are there
7. Results are not traced
8. Orders are not carried out
9. They have extraordinary long toilet or meal breaks
10. They do not turn up for weekend rounds

The list is unending.

And to make matters worst, they actually get away with it!

Leaving you to be:
1. Doing all the work
2. Tracing all the results
3. Carrying out all the orders
4. Clerking all the patients
5. Skipping your meals and sleep
6. Taking on-call duties of those who did not turn up
7. Forfeiting your leave and weekends
8. Holding it all in until you have urinary retention and chronic constipation
9. Scolded by senior HO,MO, Specialist, Consultant – coz things are not done on time
10. Tired, frustrated, disillusioned wondering what you are doing being a doctor in a so called ‘Noble’ profession where nobility seems to be a rare virtue
11. Wondering how come medical school did not teach you all these ‘real-life’ stuff

All these is because of the great lethargy of the Civil Service where:
1. If you don’t do the work, there will always be some one else who will do it
2. If you work hard, you will be made to work harder
3. Hard work is not appreciated but rather abused
4. There is no punitive action at all (or if they are, they are ineffective)
5. Everyone gets a bonus come budget day, whether you actually worked or not
6. Everyone gets a raise every year, whether you actually deserve it or not
7. Bad and lazy doctors are not retained or extended in a department but rather, they are let off, because retaining these ‘hopeless’ doctors would only add to the department’s problem and become a liability
8. No matter how hard you work, you will not get promoted due to other ‘confounding factors’ that you are born with

And again, the list is unending.

So, my advise for you is:
1. If you are one of the good noble hard working ones, stay the course, be true to your calling. Learn to take care of yourself first before you can take care of others (and that means, you drop everything non-life-threatening to go eat, shower, eat and rest) but a word of caution, you might end up being the ‘loser’ in the end.

2. If you are one of those ‘rotten apples’, I hope you are utilizing the ’stolen’ free time wisely, such as studying really hard to pass some professional exams, or in doing something which would make you a better qualified person. In the pursuit of your own happiness, you will make a lot of enemies. And so, in the end, if you win a lot, you will have lost a whole lot more.

There, I have said my piece.

Tues, 031009 @ 0700

Jimbo met a patient with a most unusual tale in his clinic last week. The man was diagnosed with HIV a few years ago and was referred for starting anti HIV medicine.

Here was the conversation between the Medical Officer and the patient; Jimbo was listening in to the conversation.

MO: Are you married?
Patient: Yes
MO: How long already?
Patient: Since 2006
MO: Does your wife know your status?
Patient: Yes, she knew when we got married.
MO: Was she ever tested?
Patient: Well, when she gave birth 3 years ago, she was tested and it was negative. The child is also negative
MO: Are you still having intercourse with your wife?
Patient: Yes
MO: Do you use a condom when having sex with her?
Patient: *hesitate*… No…
MO: Why?
Patient: Because SHE doesn’t like me wearing a condom!
Jimbo: You know if you do not wear a condom, you can infect her?
Patient: I know that! But she does not want me to wear a condom!
Jimbo: Is she aware that HIV can be transmitted via unprotected sex?
Patient: Doctor, nowadays the TV has all these advertisements about HIV, of course she knows…
Jimbo: And she still do not want you to use a condom?
Patient: Yes, I tried reasoning with her. I think someday she will be HIV positive.
Jimbo to MO: Better ask patient to bring along his wife next time for counseling!

Really weird isn’t it?

Mon, 021109 @ 0700

Ryan finally graduated from his kindergarten yesterday. Jimbo must say he has improved tremendously over the past one year, especially in his reading skills (as well as learning not to push or punch girls anymore).

And here is the video of the song which he has been practicing day and night and driving everyone at home crazy. Maybe now Jimbo and family (as well as the neighbours) can finally have some peace.

Sun, 011109 @ 1706

In response to the publicity blitz by P1 WIMAX on their new wireless broadband service, all TM could come up with is this lame advertisement:

Let’s take a vote:

Sat, 311009 @ 0700

Jimbo hardly blogs about food because he ‘eats to live’ and not the other way round. Today, he will make an exception. There are 2 places where you can get great food, nice ambiance and generally very friendly service. One, the Chapati Corner, located right inside the IMU Clinical School Campus in Seremban and the other at Rumahku (located opposite Universiti Malaya Medical Centre).

At the Chapati Corner, you can enjoy this:

Steaming hot fresh off the pan single (or double if you are absolutely don’t care about your weight) poori with dhal and curry downed with a tall glass of heavenly iced coffee! Retail price: RM 2.50 (I kid you not!). It’s probably the cheapest place in town for good food (even Jimbo’s patients from KL would eat there before making their way home after clinic consultation).

When Jimbo is very stressed up (or when he couldn’t find free food sponsored by pharma companies) in UMMC, he will head off to Rumahku, a quaint little air conditioned gallery-cum-restaurant located just opposite the UMMC. The place is like an oasis from the madness of UMMC. Assuming you survive crossing the very busy Jalan Universiti, you can enjoy this, which happens to be one of Jimbo’s favourite.

Cantonese Beef Fried Kueh Teow (don’t bother asking for extra noodles coz the chef will merely throw in an extra 2 strands of kueh teow and charge you extra RM 2 for it!) downed with a hot heavenly cup of Bru Coffee (the coffee is to die for!). You must eat the noodles with their absolutely tasty Sambal Chilli! Retail price: RM 6.00 + RM 2.50. Plain water costs 30 sen a glass.

Come join me?

Fri, 301009 @ 0700

Over the last 2 weeks, Jimbo caught on camera some signs that could rival the horrible (and funny) ones in China.

Here are some of them:

Spotted this stuck to the shutter of a shop in UMMC. Apparently the shop is closed, so “go to the toilet” instead.

Spotted this in the changing room of Jusco Seremban 2. This one sounds like 5 garments are about to go on trial! (For being misfits?)

Spotted this one in the lift of the Legend Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. This is the only ‘Bussiness’ Hotel in Malaysia.

Thurs, 291009 @ 0745