Friday, November 27, 2009

Photography tips from Alex Majoli

i'm not a regular reader of the Digital Camera Magazine...dunno why... kiamsiap guar...
rather learn from forums and tutorials online...free...hehe...

the other day at Queensbay while my dear browsing for magazines (as usual) i wander off...and found this issue...and bought it

what i'm interested is not the brand battle (it will be years before i get another camera)
or HDR (never have much interest in them)
or how to get creative with lenses (no money buy)

it's the 50 tips from 50 top photographers...
not that i expect a few lines from the pros will make me a pro...
just interested to know, name and faces, who are among the top photographers of today...
and see what do they have to say, in a few lines, about this art...

in a nutshell most of them are more or less the same...
some technical advises...
some philosophical insights...
some sharing of experience...
try and keep trying
don't stop learning
keep the passion burning
know your gears well
read your inches thick manual
follow your instinct
do your research
use your imagination
use a tripod (so disappointed...it's photography 101...no need a pro to tell me that)
don't use a tripod (contrary with photography 101 leh...but hey these are pros...they dun follow rules)
bla...bla...bla...
nevertheless...it's an interesting read...
interested? still can get the issue online...

just want to share one that i find the most interesting
it's from Alex Majoli (multi award-winning member of Magnum Photos)...
1) Read. My suggesstions are: Amos Oz, Pirandello, Saramango, Musil.
2) Learn how to choose a good wine and know one or two recipes.
3) Walk 5 to 10km everyday.
4) Read the Herald Tribune everyday.
5) Shoot a slide film every six months.
6) Be light on your equipment - one lens and one camera and in your hotel/b&b/tent, plus a back-up.
7) Buy good shoes - make sure they're light, waterproof and comfortable.
8) Don't try to understand things/people/cultures, before a trip.
9) Try not to organise your assignments too much before you leave home.
10) Enjoy photography, remember that it's not a contest.

my favourite line is of course the last one...
gotta constantly remind myself that...
it's not a race...Enjoy!
(by the way...he uses dummy Point and Shoot camera)

Saturday, November 7, 2009

a small pharmacist in a small hospital...

in a zapp...i spent a month in Hospital Gerik...really fast...

there are definitely major differences between working in a big state hospital compared to a humble district hospital...

a humble district hospital with 4 wards...only

but talking about "pharmaceutical care" that the lecturers kept repeating millions of times back in the university...i have more opportunity to practise here...perhaps it has nothing to do with the hospital...just that i'm no longer a very very lazy PRP but just a lazy FRP...

in Ipoh...it's either
i see their case and counsel them in ward...
or...fill their in-patient medication...
or...prepare their cytotoxic medications...
or...prepare their Parenteral Nutrition bags...
or...analyse and interpret their serum drug level...
or...find information for their attending doctors...
or...purchase their medication...
or...lastly...dispense medicines to them before they go back home...
its either...or...

at best we can do 2 of the above at one time...or 3 if we happen to dispense to the same patient we see in ward when relieve at the pharmacy counter...

here at this tiny little hospital...
i see their case and counsel them in ward...
and...check their in-patient medication...
and...find information for their attending doctors...
and...dispense to them at the counter
and...lots of time to counsel (i.e chit chat with) them at the counter before they go home...if i do the same thing at HRPB...definitely will be flooded by trays and medicines...

and...interpret their serum drug level...
tests were done in HRPB...and results do come with recommendations...but i'm no longer a PRP...so i can choose not to agree with them...heheheh

in short...here i can give one dragon service from beginning till the end...

the good thing here?
lots of time to learn and study...
time to pick up...again...the knowledge lost somewhere along the way...

the bad thing?
the other day i was following a case...until he had an acute exacerbation and transferred out to Ipoh...
there is a limit to what we can do here...thus a limit to what i can see in the ward...
but then...at ipoh...u can only see the patient during and after the attack...
here i can see before...still something different to learn...

but still...
no matter how hard we complaint about the chaotic large hospitals...
no matter how hard we bragged about the the peaceful small hospitals...
deep down we do want to return...because that is where we are from...Ipoh...

in case i have the opportunity...i want to return as a better me...

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Finally...i'm away from home again...

announcement: my new workplace is a small hospital (75 beds) in a town (pop: 2000-5000) 2 hours drive at 120km north of ipoh...


yeap...my new posting is at Gerik (pronounced Grik) Hospital...

last weekend transported some of my stuffs there...
and to show my dear how wonderful and nice and rural and peaceful her dear's working town will be...

started working since tuesday...so much different to work in a small hospital...so much warmer...
the pharmacy staffs were welcoming...especially the pharmacists...

there are now 3 Mr Lims...luckily i'm not one...otherwise all the pharmacists are Mr Lim...would be very interesting if Lim Ming Teng was posted here instead...people will surely think he is Lim Ming Hee's brother...haha...but one look already know they aren't

(*my media player is playing wonderwall by oasis at the moment...damn i still love this song*)

thanks to another Mr Lim for helping me find a place to stay...really like that place...though a bit lonely and scary...but i prefer that way...

thanks to yet another Mr Lim for tumpang us to lunch...

to quote from Mr Lim the boss...a nice and small town...small hospital...lighter workload...no staff problem...just a bit far from Ipoh...but still travel-able...so far all are true...so far lah...

i'm taking over Miss Chan(the only female pharmacist there for the past 2 years)'s in-patient pharmacy and clinical...
congratulation Miss Chan on your big day!...and your new posting!...though we will only be colleagues for less than a month...but will definitely miss you...good luck to you!!!

so...with Miss Chan moving out...it will be all guys affair at HG...until another lady arrive to dilute the testosterone...

interested with my routine?
wake up...breakfast...WALK to work...cool eh...
finish work...go back rest...7.30pm go dinner with colleagues and friends...chitchat...go back read some book and comic...bedtime...end of a day...VERY interesting leh?
not to forget the badminton session...
well i can foresee things can get better once i transport my running shoe and camera and subscribe to wi-fi...

i'm glad to be part of the small family there...meet some new friends...very friendly friends...
so far i enjoyed my first week there...and i hope i can enjoy the rest of my time there until i got my transfer...dunno when...in the meantime...enjoy life as it is!!!

for those who don't know where on earth is Gerik...or have the very slight motivation to see how ulu the place is...feel free to visit me lar...

for all my dear friends at faraway "ulu" places...
take it positively...
take it as an opportunity to serve those who needed your knowledge and service much much more than mere dispensing...
take it as an opportunity to explore places that we never imagined living...
take it as an opportunity to leap out of that coconut shell...at least for once in our lifetime...

to fill my "free time"...i'd drafted my SKT (Sasaran Keriangan Tahunan) 2010:
1) go to Betong (thai border) to smuggle in Singha and super hot but tasty TomYam instant noodle...
2) to hike the Belum reserve forest
3) to visit Tasik Banding
4) to go wild boar hunting
5) to look for the best wild boar curry in the district
6) to visit Temenggor dam...if can lar...cos it's restricted area
7) lastly...quite a difficult task...to have a photography portfolio on Gerik...and, if possible, surrounding areas...

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Finally...the last day of my journey as PRP...

when i started my blog...i used to start all my titles with "Finally..."
it is as if i had done waiting...and hence wanting to share the results here...
after a while...i stop doing that...
because the titles got a little less personal...hence "Finally..." is no longer relevant...

today...i'm doing it again...because it is personal...

Finally i ended my training at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB), Ipoh...today (30th Sept) was the last...

when i first got posted here...people were telling me this is a good place for training...
indeed it is...
there countless opportunities to learn...the seniors and experienced colleagues were ever willing to share...only thing is to ask...and a little initiative to learn...

learn to practise what we studied...
learn to work as a team...(not as a group)
learn to make friends...and avoid making foes?
learn to respect each other...and earning respect from others

as you can see...only 25% is related to that stupid degree...
the rest...it is personal...

looks like i'll have to end here...haven't write for sometime...got stuck here and there...
after this will have more time to write...

before i end...want to take this opportunity...to thank again all my seniors and colleagues for all the advice and help...really appreciate them...

FAQ:
1) my favourite department?
it has to be satellite 7...when i was there...no need to do paeds wards...
with mr kris, mr tan, kak shamala and kak ina...working under miss eng...in my opinion was the best team i ever work with in HRPB...of course with us little PRPs just make the team even better and interesting...haha

2) the department i enjoyed working the most?
it is a little different from the previous question...
i enjoyed working at FKP the most...
though it is not the easiest place to work...but the atmosphere and the interaction among colleagues...for someone as busy-body as myself...it has to be the most enjoyable place to work...as PRP...FRP don't know lar...haha
special thanks to all the FRPs there...
miss chong, miss wong, miss khor, miss yeap, miss ng, miss saras, miss chou, miss kat, miss munyan, also miss choo...for answering all our silly questions...
all the best to you all...just bully the new FRPs and incoming PRPs...no need give me face one...

we will meet again for sure...

Monday, September 7, 2009

saya memahaminya...

before anything else...for those who never heard of Tan Hong Ming...check out this video...

kanak-kanak memahaminya...but how many of us do when we were kanak-kanak?
my guess is...not many...
but i can say i do

i studied 4 years (primary 1 to 4) in a Malay school in Kampar by the name of a French guy...De La Salle...
my batch...only 4 of us are chinese...majority Malays and very few Indians...the rest are Orang Asli...
how many of us have Orang Asli friends?

those were the real 1Malaysia...

by the way...why do i say i memahaminya...
because at that time my relationship with the Malays was so good i was quite sure i would end up marrying a Malay girl...

and of course that time there was this really cute and pretty Malay girl whom i had a crush on...
just like Tan Hong Ming...

but as i grow up...i slowly lost all my Malay friends...ALL
they all went off to some colleges that i couldn't join them...
back then i didn't know why...now i do...

my message...if you want a real 1Malaysia...
have a real good look at our education system...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

1Malaysia marching towards Independence anniversary in the holy month of Ramadan...(part 2)

continuation from the last entry...

should've continued writing last week...
i wanted to comment a little on the "cow" story...
but then got too lazy...and the news became a little bit too old...
but it's still mentioned a little bit in the paper today...so i guess its still quite hot...

in the meantime...i found a good article by Prof Mohd Tajuddin Haji Mohd Rasdi
the article told everything i wanted to tell...only in a more matured and organised manner...
so instead of writing my own...and potentially using the wrong words...i decided to share this article here...
i don't know where is the source but i found this article here...

________________________________________

Of cow heads and arrogant Muslims
(Sep 1, 09 2:04pm)

I wish to comment on the 'cow head' incident in Shah Alam. As a Muslim and as a Malaysian citizen I do not support such a wanton display of disrespect for Islam and for Malaysia.

As a Muslim, my readings of Islam and the Prophet Muhammad's traditions or hadiths have taught me to respect animals and other religions.

With respect to animals, the Prophet warned Muslims against overburdening animals in carrying objects. The Prophet explained a story of how a prostitute was forgiven her sins by the simple act of giving a thirsty dog a drink.

The cow is one of the animals which Muslims slaughter not just for food but also as a sacrificial offering of our thankfulness to Allah as well as remembering Abraham's 'sacrifice' of his son Ismail.

The cow is thus 'holy' to Muslims as well as to Hindus. Muslims sacrifice a cow for the aqiqah ceremony or during the Qurban celebrations.

Thus as a Muslim, we must respect animals that become our food as well as our symbolic act of sacrifice.Standing or putting once's foot on a dead cow is a 'biadab' act that speaks of a person steeped in racial bigotry and of a person low in education of Islam.

With respect to other religions, there were occasions where the Prophet taught me about my attitude towards them. Once, the Prophet stood up as a sign of respect when the body of a Jew was carried to the grave.

When dispatching the army to a campaign, the Prophet warned the soldiers from desecrating houses of worships, those who reside in them, the young and the old and even trees should not be cut down if necessary.

Never had the Prophet taught me to desecrate another person's religion. The great Indonesian scholar Hamka wrote in his magnum opus, Tafsir Al-Azhar that there are hundreds of thousands of 'Nabi' and they might even be the founders of other religions.

It is common to find other religious faiths making fun of Islam and Muslims but as a Muslim I will never be allowed by my religion to make fun of other religions much less to desecrate them.

As a Malaysian citizen, I wish to ask why these people who showed such contempt for the religion of the Hindus not be arrested under the Sedition Act?

Were these people given permits by the police? If so why were they granted permits to desecrate another religion? Why were they not stopped and told to disperse? If Hindus can tolerate the Muslim call for prayers five times a day for the rest of their lives, what disruption can a Hindu temple be?

I live next to a Hindu Temple about 150 meters away and I observe a procession thrice or twice a year. It is quiet 362 days of the year.

Lastly, if these residents were proven to be members of any political party or parties, their membership should be revoked in order to ensure that we should not tolerate any political entity that uses racial hatred as their means of achieving political ends.

If not, then the said party or parties should be outlawed and their registration terminated immediately.

After more than 50 years of merdeka, I still cannot raise five children without the threat of racial disharmony and hatred. What does that say about our present leadership and future of our country?

_______________________________________

my view...
i don't care whether its politically motivated or otherwise...
peaceful demonstration is ok...
but to march with a severed cow head...deemed to be sacred in Hinduism...is definitely very insensitive...
moreover this is the holy month of Ramadan...and that time (last week) was our "National Day" week...
not to forget this is just a small group of people...they could be minority and may not represent the rest of the community at large...

but still....this has to be the best 1Malaysia joke ever...

p/s: for more updates...dig the news yourself lar...

1Malaysia marching towards Independence anniversary in the holy month of Ramadan...(part 1)

National Day is 2 days away...normally at this time of the year...i'm a little bit excited with a lot of patriotism running in my blood...seriously!
with all the articles in the newspaper about our founding fathers' battle for independence...
all the patriotic advertisement shown on TV...

but this year...perhaps my perspective had shifted a little...
these historical events reminding me how poor and weak and selfish our leaders are today as compared to our founding fathers...
and the advertisements keep reminding me of Yasmin Ahmad...

i feel the strongest for the one advert about a little indian boy...woke up early in the morning...dressed nicely by his mother and getting ready to go out with his father...for a very special day...

although the advert is a reproduction (a very good and emotional one)...but i can imagine on the 31st of August 1957...in Stadium Merdeka...the seven times "Merdeka" by Tunku...and 1 Malaysia (should i say Malaya?) with him...was filled with real emotion and exploding patriotism...

* to be continued...out for lunch with my lawyer

Monday, August 3, 2009

Why do we have to march?...he asked

last weekend...there was a "peaceful" gathering to protest against ISA...
and then our dear PM asked why do they need to march when the government is going to review the act "soon"...
here i found a good article with plenty of answers to that questions...
as its published in TheSun...and i believe not many of us read TheSun...i'll just share them with you here...(original article at http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=36441)

Why do Malaysians march?
Yeo Yang Poh



On the move ... a section of anti-ISA protesters near
the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

WHY march, when the government has said that it will review the Internal Security Act? Why march, when there are other very cosy ways of giving your views and feedback?

One would understand if these were questions posed by nine-year-olds. But they are not. They are questions posed by the prime minister of this nation we call our home. Answer we must. So, why?

Because thousands who died while in detention cannot march or speak any more. That is why others have to do it for them.

Because persons in the corridors of power, persons who have amassed tremendous wealth and live in mansions, and persons who are in the position to right wrongs but won’t, continue to rule our nation with suffocating might. And they certainly would not march. They would prevent others from marching.

Because the have-nots, the sidelined, the oppressed, the discriminated and the persecuted have no effective line to the powerful.

Because the nice ways have been tried ad nauseam for decades, but have fallen on deaf ears.

Because none of the major recommendations of Suhakam (including on peaceful assembly), or of the commissions of inquiry, has been implemented. Because the proposed Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) is not in sight, while corruption and insecurity live in every neighbourhood; and (despite reasoned views expressed ever so nicely in opposition) Rela (people’s volunteer corps) is being brought in to make matters even worse.

The proponents in “Su Qiu” (remember them?) were not marchers. In fact it is hard to find nicer ways than “su qiu”, because the term means “present and request” or “inform and request”. In terms of putting forward a view or a request, it is the height of politeness. Yet they were labelled “extremists” – they who did not march.

And now you ask, why march?

Because you gave non-marchers a false name! You called them the “silent majority”, who by virtue of their silence (so you proudly argued with twisted logic) were supporters of government policies since they were not vocal in raising objections. You claimed to be protecting the interest of the “silent majority”. Now some of them do not want to be silent anymore, and you are asking why?

Yes, because double standards and hypocrisy cannot be covered up or explained away forever; and incompetence cannot be indefinitely propped up by depleting resources.

Because cronyism can only take care of a few people, and the rest will eventually wake up to realise the repeated lies that things were done in certain ways purportedly “for their benefit”.

Because the race card, cleverly played for such a long time, is beginning to be seen for what it really is – a despicable tool to divide the rakyat for easier political manipulation.

Because it does not take much to figure out that there is no good reason why Malaysia, a country with abundant human resources and rich natural resources, does not have a standard of living many times higher than that of Singapore, an island state with no natural resources and that has to import human resources from Malaysia and elsewhere.

Because, in general, countries that do not persecute marchers are prosperous or are improving from their previous state of affairs, and those that do are declining.

Because Gandhi marched, Mandela marched, Martin Luther King marched, and Tunku Abdul Rahman marched.

Because more and more people realise that peaceful assemblies are no threat at all to the security of the nation, although they are a threat to the security of tenure of the ruling elite.

Because politicians do not mean it when they say with a straight face or a smile that they are the servants and that the people are the masters. No servant would treat his master with tear gas, batons and handcuffs.

Because if the marchers in history had been stopped in their tracks, places like India, Malaysia and many others would still be colonies today, apartheid would still be thriving in South Africa, Nelson Mandela would still be scribbling on the walls of Cell 5, and Obama would probably be a slave somewhere in Mississippi plotting to make his next midnight dash for the river.

And because liberty, freedom and dignity are not free vouchers posted out to each household.

They do not come to those who just sit and wait. They have to be fought for, and gained.

And if you still want to ask: why march; I can go on and on until the last tree is felled. But I shall
obviously not.

I will end with the following lines from one of the songs sung in the 1960s by civil rights marchers in the US, without whom Obama would not be able to even sit with the whites in a bus, let alone reside in the White House:

“It isn’t nice to block the doorway
It isn’t nice to go to jail
There are nicer ways to do it
But the nice ways have all failed
It isn’t nice; it isn’t nice
You’ve told us once, you’ve told us twice
But if that’s freedom’s price
We don’t mind ...”

Yeo Yang Poh is a former Bar Council president. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

a nice movie for the weekend...

while having my lunch...instant noodle with Vietnamese ham and chicken meatball...and a cup of iced white coffee...
watched a DVD...a good one...

found this DVD in the shop one day...
to begin with...it won the Oscar for the Foreign Movie of the Year...
having seen...and impressed with Oscar's Foreign Movie of the Year for 06 and 07 (German and Austrian respectively)...i'm very curious with this one...
moreover...i'm a big fan of Japanese movies...

there's something charming about the way the Japanese's style of story-telling...
perhaps its the similarity of our culture...i mean as a Chinese...not Malaysian...
i like their stories...i've seen a few movies whereby their stories are simple...yet they have many little but significant characters...interesting little sub-plots...little twists...each little stories delivering messages of their own...

not to mention their brilliant soundtrack...and how they make the mature ones look so charming...the young ones look so beautiful...and the little ones look so so cute...

back to this movie...it's an interesting movie as it brings us to look into the traditional Japanese encoffining...putting a deceased into the coffin...something i never knew of...
and along the way...there are interesting people and interesting stories...each looking at death at a different perspective...

do check this movie out if you need something alternative to the over-commercialized transforming metals...

Monday, June 22, 2009

an old assignment...my favourite course

finally my laptop is up and running again...after 1 whole year of resting in the cabinet...its a Toshiba...
i broke the adaptor a year ago...and lazy to get new one...another reason being its expensive...but at the end i got one...but not from Toshiba...cause its ridiculously expensive....

while going through some old files...found this...
my assignment for my favourite course in USM...
the course i enjoyed the most...although German tailed closely...but this is still the best...
LHP 453...Creative Writing...

my English isn't really good...and my story isn't really creative...but i'm tak malu lar...just want to share something i wrote...felt it wasteful...wrote it only for my teacher to read...

here's the intro...hope you enjoy it...
..............

“Come on Papa, you must take these medications accordingly,” Ei Leen reminded her father, as she always did whenever she comes home from her college in KL.

“I did,” Papa told Ei Leen, although he never did.

“No, you didn’t! I counted your tablets. They do not tally with the doses you should have taken since the last time I counted them. Papa, you always forgot your medicines.”

“Not always. Sometimes I forgot.”

“You also didn’t take them as instructed. I saw you took your medicines after dinner just now. You should have taken them half an hour before meal. That’s why you always feel dizzy and having stomach upset.”

“That has nothing to do with my ‘kencing manis’ medications.”

“Of course they do. They are supposed to lower your blood glucose level after meal. If you take them without eating, your blood glucose will be so low that you could faint. And don’t ever forget your medicine for your heart.”

“I am only tired and having my gastric pain. I had been having gastric pain for the last 40 years.”

“Papa, please don’t make me worry. Only 6 months left to my graduation. After that I will come home and take care of you. Meanwhile, Papa, please take care of yourself.”

“Ok,” he got up from his rusty metal recliner, headed to his room and closed the door.

“Papa, I’m serious. I really…ring ring…ring ring…ring,” the conversation was interrupted by her ringing mobile phone. As she was reaching for the phone, the ringing stopped. She reviewed the missed call.

“Papa, I’m going to pasar malam with some friends. Don’t wait for me. They will fetch me home,” she told Papa through the door.

“Be careful. Don’t come home too late,” he replied.

“I will. Good night Papa.”


She grabbed a pair of sneakers from the shoe cabinet, wore them and walked out, closing the door behind her. Closing the main gate, she walked down the peaceful road until she reached a junction, two doors away. She turned left and walked towards a waiting navy blue Perodua Kelisa. Yew Vern was waiting inside the car. As he sees her approaching, he reeled up the window and started the engine.


to be continued

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