Shift.

It takes a colossal amount of motivation for change in ones life.Often, it usually follows an episode of great distress-be it emotional, mental or physical.

For example, most of us (the average Malaysian) doesn't think twice about banana leaf or nasi kandar lunches until they obtain their shabby looking lipid profile results.-Physical Anxiety

or 

An average school kid wouldn't see the need to put in certain number of hours or take a different approach to a subject matter until he/she fails a certain subject.-Mental anxiety

I'm hopeless with Emotional observations so we'll skip that one.

The point i'm trying to make is, to truly change a certain aspect of our life, we'd have to be uncomfortable with where we are right now. We do not evolve if we get comfortable. We do not become better versions of ourselves.

If lets say i became a complacent doctor, who becomes accustomed to a mediocre lifestyle, i wouldn't need to generate a huge income to support my lifestyle and i wouldn't need to specialize further.Some of you might argue that specializing only requires passion, but i disagree. You need more than just passion to propel you through something as tedious and demanding as a specialization programme-you first of all :

a)Need to be uncomfortable with where you are in life currently-as in the whole hierarchy and earning capacity.

b)Need to have an insight over where you see yourself-do you WANT to specialize because everyone is or because you want to?Would you be happy with that particular course?

c) Finally-passion.

Based on my personal experience, i honestly am not as fired up for the AMC as i was for the MRCS- when i looked in me for answers-this is what i got:

-when i sat for the MRCS i wanted to prove a point to myself and the people around me that i do deserve to be in a surgical and not a medical based dept.

-i had completed my housemanship and JMO postings,and i was all fired up at the thought of ortho, so i thought lets gauge myself,lets see where i belong.Lets sit for an exam.

-I wanted to be the first or at least the most different one amongst my peers who were (at that time) chilling.

and i had and still have a passion for a surgical based dept.

Don't get me wrong,i am fired up for the AMC,but not like i was for the MRCS.i want to do the AMC,because i want something better for myself,i don't want to be slogging all day to get some guy who works at Mc D's to outearn me.

The AMC is a passport, to furthering my studies, it is a ticket for a different kind of walkabout.

The other example of discomfort bringing out the best in me would be my exercise habits-i exercise with a higher intensity the days i feel unhealthy-just to compensate for that feeling.If i felt great, i would exercise just as hard but i wont push myself to a level of burnout.

In a nutshell, to see change, to evolve we all have to at some point get uncomfortable with our surroundings/ourselves. Only then will our internal system propel us to the level of greatness that some could only imagine but not realise.

Retrogress

Believe me, Malaysians aren't as cool as the title!

We as a nation DON'T READ! there you go...plain and simple.

See, we've been having problems with our numbering system at the clinic,so my boss asked us to come up with strategies to iron the mess out. So me being the oh-so-self-proclaimed-genius that i am, came up with Images as tools to enlighten the masses of our system.

Well, the sign, i might like to add is HUGE as in HUGE...i hope that made a point. It doesn't require a rocket scientist to decipher and its all numbers.

Initially,upon implementation, we found that the crowd was co-operative, but as time went on, Malaysians being the pathetic Vandals that they are, decide to rip off the notice off our doors and then knock on our doors to say the system is unclear and we should put up a sign. *sigh*

Anyway,i let that slip and got the nurses to put up new signs, and YET they knock on our doors saying the numbering is unclear. WTF?

Seriously, what does this indicate?...we as a nation, DON'T-BLOODY-READ!

Its far cheaper to send text messages and sit about in the mamak,hell even cable TV is affordable,but are books? NO. Ok now i'm digressing from the main subject in discussion.

See the point i'm trying to make is, we are retrogressing, its sad, very sad. I shudder to think of what the education system of this country is going to be like in the next 5 years, i am glad my youngest brother is out of the system. Whats even worse is that, the Malaysian lifestyle is too goddamned lackadaisical- the teachers don't encourage you to read, the media doesn't encourage you to read, the bookstores don't encourage you to read , our newspapers are a joke, most of us don't think ourside the box ; most of us DON'T THINK. At the rate things are going now, reading will become a privilege like caviar and champagne because a) its rare b) its expensive c) its acquired taste. Thats quite fine by me, see, being the pompous-egoccentric person that i am, its quite a grand feeling to be a part of the minority- 2% of the entire worlds' population.

Its 2217...i should get back to my pillow now...till the next one.

The Joker

Do you know what happened today?

I woke up unceremoniously at 0738, stared at my watch in total disbelieve because i was soo fresh and renewed, it felt like i had been asleep for almost 8 hours,when in reality i had only been asleep for 5 hours or therebouts.

So i practically jumped out of bed-excited and all, about being awake soo darn early,the DAMPENING part though,was the fact that it hadn't stopped raining since yesterday and when i drew the curtains,there wasn't any sun-the perfect weather to continue sleeping in...but as always,i HAVE to do things differently.

Did i mention though that its a sunday?...i mean who wakes up at 0738 on a sunday morning?

Anyway, i stretched, visited the loo,drank a good liter of water with my vitamins, put the water to boil and started the washing machine...looked around,found what i was reading the night before...got back into bed and read...by then a whole hour had passed-and it was time!...yes the bowel movement ensued...(i'm sorry i take soo much pride in my bowel movement but...its one of those things that make my day complete)

A good shower later i was sitting infront of the morning news with marmalade toast and coffee...there was nothing new though,just that now the Turks are calling the Killings in Urumqi 'Genoside'...i mean COME ON?....seriously?...the highest number of deaths are amongst the Han Chinese who AREN'T muslims...so please lets wipe the self pity off the table for now.

While flossing,i noticed that the once perfectly sculpted eyebrows of mine were now sprouting new growth and it wasn't exactly attractive...so...right after the morning ritual of news and breakfast i headed out to get my eyebrows done.

Here's the thing about driving out in Penang early sunday mornings, its Abso-fucking-lutely beautiful...no road hoggers,no maniac drivers, no delusional 'Humvee' drivers who occupy 2 lanes, ah such bliss...almost therapeutic.

On my way home i picked up the newspaper...and while driving home, i just realised how much i love sundays...especially when i am surrounded with the people i love. For those of you who have read previous entries of mine, you would know by now that i love sunday brunch or at least connecting with people. so here's where the problem starts.

By the time i got home, which was around 11am, i had already decided that its  been a fantastic sunday,and to top it off,all i had to do was pick up the phone and call a bunch of people to have lunch with.So thats when i realised,that i don't actually have my folks or my close friends around here...for me to call on and head out to lunch with.Now, when i got home, Vindaloo (my housemate) was making lunch plans with Siva (her friend,who is also my friend) and invited me to join...guess what i do?...decline the invitation!....i know i know...and you wonder why i make a fuss about it being sunday and....lunch and stuff like that...oh well...i guess sometimes...you just feel like makng a fuss about things and you dont need a reason to do so.

What eventually happened was that, i ordered in from Kapitan-and watched Nothing but the truth on DVD (awesome watch)...and right NOW,as i type all of this ....i am sipping on a velvety latte...and thinking why am i not doing something else?...

Well...i guess i will...till then,if you do get a chance - pick up Mogwai's I know who you are but who am i?

Current read: Tipping Point.