The World, From My Eyes

"I step aside, turn around and look naively at the world evolving around me. I'll surprise myself for things I've taken for granted. It's about the tiny little piece of thoughts hailed from the bottom of my mind. It's about an appreciation, expression, discovery, perceivedness, compassion or simply a random scribble of a soul. I believe that life's too precious to be squandered away with the mundane. It's my life. And I'm living it. The world from my eyes, an utter manifestation."

Exam Mode

I suppose exam season is the season where people would get nervous most, disheveled most and freaked out most. Let alone when we got loads of bright friends around whom apparently did not seem that nerdy diligent in front of our eyes yet scored perfectly high in every single exam despite the night-outs as such. Aren't they just good at balancing their time proportionately? [And you, Sarah? :S]

It happened that this one day I went home over the lunchtime following the morning tutorials and made it late to the lecture at 2 pm. I was praying hard along the walk to class yearning that it wouldn't be Dr Dunne who's giving the first lecture that afternoon on paediatrics. If you want to know the reason for that, it's because he loves to 'torture' the latecomers with questions 'assuming' that they must have known more than the rest that brought them late to class. A smart approach in alluring us to turn up early to the lectures ya?

Well in a way I thought that's a good technique in getting our mind sort of working throughout as the nerves inside will keep our mind more dynamic even if we got in early. The idea of the possibility to be the next person asked is absolutely daunting! After all you know what 'fortunately' it wasn't Dr Dunne who delivered the lecture that day and in fact it wasn't even paediatrics lecture that was the first on!

After 3 lectures back to back I finally reached home, slowly opened the door of my room and picked up my phone that I forgot to put into my pocket before I left the house.

1 unread message.

"U r late!"

I smiled reading that message on the screen. It was to my least expectation that my attempt to sneak into the lecture theatre quietly without anyone noticing was a failure- I was caught red handed!

It was long after I last spoke to or even saw him. The sender was my Irish colleague who was in the same clinical attachment group as I was last year. The 6 months together in the group got us to know each other quite well as compared to before where everyone in the small group would probably hardly notice each other in the class. He's that friendly type of person who showed interest in knowing more about Malaysia and religion, which of course are the things that I'm apparently into as well.

Reply message- clicked

"I was so disorganized today that I even forgot my phone.
So just read your text there! ;)"

Send message- clicked

1 minute later.

"Lol. You're just lost without me!"

Nearly laughed my lungs out before I clicked: Reply message.

"Lol indeed!"

The End.

*********************

Exams are just around the corner so just to let you know that you will less likely be seeing updates on this blog for the meantime. Anyhow I'll be back soon, insyaAllah ;).

"But seek, with that [wealth] which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world; and do good as Allah has been good to you, and seek not mischief in the land."
[Al-Qasas, 28:77]

Bittaufiq wannajah fil imtihan to the those fighting with books- just like I am ;)

* On paediatrics attachment at the moment thus the above picture. And insyaAllah am presenting a case this Wednesday, do make prayers for me ya!

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Q & A {K.I.V.}

Here I pasted a facebook message I received from a classmate of mine who is an Irish. Let's have a thought. As usual I've changed the names to protect the persons' confidentiality.

Hey Sarah! I was rummaging around facebook just now. I noticed an unusual comment from Izzati on my homepage. She's a lovely girl I'm sure, but one I've never talked to. Sad that, how facebook "friends" are seldom real friends at all. But the dichotomy of friendship on facebook and in reality, and the nature of Hiberno-Malay amity are discussions for another day. In any case, it occurred to me that i had once perused your blog, and found it interesting, and that I should do so again. So I went to sarahmurniati.blogspot.com and again was struck by your excellent writing. A great deal better than most Irish people in our class could manage, I would imagine. I'm not quite sure how I recognise good writing, perhaps by the vocabulary and the rhythm of the storytelling. But what ever it is, you have the Gift.

I don't quite understand the idea of blogging though. It seems so personal? As I read, I feel like a cat burglar who has entered your room, sifted through your drawers, discovered your diary, and sat a while in the moonlight to read and learn the inner thoughts of this person who he doesn't really know. And then, thief as I am, I crept away again, feeling somewhat guilty that I should learn these things, and leave no calling card, not respond in any way.

So to preface my discussion, I wish to say that I did not mean to intrude or anything. I'm a person who enjoys debate, so understand that any arguments i put forth are not meant personally, but are just ways of me trying to reason out the logic behind your thinking. I intensely dislike people who take good natured debate on a serious topic to heart. Or maybe it's easier for me to remain objective because I'm emotionless and cold of heart; who is to say?!

The items in your blog that struck me were your reference to the Muslim girls who do not wear head scarves; the story of the man who knew the story of Abraham and Sarah; and the nurse who asked you about pork. Evidently, they're all related to religion, a subject that interests me. i know quite little bits about Islam, having lived with Abdullah and his brother Iqbal, and Zulkifli for the last year or more. And I'm involved with the Catholic church in my home town of Ennis, reading at Mass and whatnot. Anyhow, here are my thoughts on your thoughts.

The issue of the head scarfs is an interesting one. I understand that the purpose of the scarf is to dampen the desire of males, thereby preventing the sin of premarital "relationships." Such premarital relationships can certainly be bad, and are forbidden also in the Catholic faith, and I agree with the principal. However, going to such lengths as concealing so natural and unprovocative as hair seems excessive. It reminds me of my argument against the Amish. You may have heard of them, they are Protestant Christians in America, descended from German immigrants. They wear plain black and white clothing, and do not use any modern technology - they have no phones, televisions or cars. They live as if it were the 1800's. And they are zealous with regard to religion. Their reason for doing so is to avoid the temptation that technology would bring - greed , sloth and all other kinds of desire. My view is that this a form of cheating as such. We are human and we have desires, some of which are bad. But if you go to such extreme lengths to avoid these desires, are you not admitting your weakness? Does shying away from the fight prove your holiness? In wearing a scarf, are you not condemning boys as being somehow animalistic, devoid of self restraint? It was your relative anger on this point that piqued my interest.

I had more to write on the other two incidents, but it is late, and my mind is weary and growing ever more befogged, as Mahmood would say. Perhaps another time. I would be interested to hear what you have to say on this at least.

Yours earnestly,
Philip

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Breathless

Every time...
You feel like you can not go on...
You feel so lost and that you so alone...

All you see is night..
And darkness all around..
You feel so helpless.. You can't see which way to go..

Don't despair and never lose hope..
Because Allah is always by your side..

Inshaa' Allah.. Inshaa' Allah.. Inshaa' Allah you'll find your way..
[Insha Allah by Maher Zain]

It's apparently strange how I managed to steal some minutes off my already-scanty time to write this entry. By scanty I mean little time left before the exams, for the case reports and for everything. I think I've been putting this blog aside for so long now and I'm deeply sorry for that, truly. A silent blog doesn't mean a silent life that I'm currently having. In fact not even close. Numerous things happened around me one after another that to be able to sit down and think of a line or two to put up on this blog- they all had seemed impossible. I have to admit that deep down I'm actually wrecked inside out. I'm just another person, another girl with brittle heart and inexpensive tears just like any other ordinary human being who would have given up without His support.

After all I'm happy and content with what I had been spending my time on. I don't blame them for having taken a huge portion of my time off studying, not even an inch. I believe that responsibility takes over everything. So even if you couldn't find pleasure in what you're doing, create it in any way feasible because you realize that you are doing that for an important reason, not merely for fun, for good name etc. And therefore whenever you feel like it's just too hard for you to withstand, take a minute or two to recapitulate what are they all for at the first place and you'll be fine insyaAllah.

I was involved in the Research Poster Presentation organised by the Irish Endocrine Society [IES] which took place in the Kingsley Hotel, Cork about last 2 weeks. If you remember I actually did a research over last summer and at the end of it I sent in an abstract to participate in the poster competition. It was only a couple of weeks after the school resumed that I received the confirmation news that my application has been accepted. I can't explain more how awful and awkward it was to plunge myself into the research pool once again after leaving it for like 4 months or so. I had a dreadful start to begin creating the poster from scratch- in which I didn't expect it to be that painful. However I thank Allah for the wonderful team I'm working in though. Gloria's endless help really gave me huge relief as she all along understands how little my knowledge was on statistics, and I deem that's true.

Otherwise the Irish Endocrine Society conference happened in the way it would have happened I suppose. It was an unreal experience to be involved in a very formal event surrounded by highly intelectual endocrinology experts which certainly made me feel like a little tiny creature in the middle of everyone whom doesn't have anything extra to offer other than a half-filled mind waiting to be poured in with knowledge. Anyways I believe it was a good exposure and useful introduction for me to the real medical world and I again thank Allah that He had guided me to take up the offer to do the research over last summer.

The team

A thing that I'd like to share here is that I can't decide if it was surprising that of hundreds of people who were present in the 2-day conference I found that I was the only person with headscarf in there. I don't intend to boast or anything so please don't get me wrong, but even though the event was dominated by the Irish I still could see I a few recognizable Malaysian faces and I even broke the ice with this one lovely Malaysian girl from RCSI whose poster was opposite mine. Disappointingly none of them really depicted the image of a muslimah that one would expect from a person embracing the religion. What I'm saying is that I'm glad that at least I kind of became a representative of the Muslims to get involved in the outstanding event, which I hope is a step away from becoming a hizbullah technocrat :).

Galway Excursion 2009 was a big event brought by PPIMG specially handled by the Lajnah Dakwah dan Tarbiyah every year in which I was the person in charge. We set up a team in a hope to get everything in order and the preparation embarked nearly 2 months prior to the event itself; which finally came to place on 14th and 15th Nov 2009 in The Burren Sleepzone, Co. Clare. No words can express the amount of ups and downs that I encountered ever since I was given the responsiblity to become the director of the event. From finding and dealing with the people to get the accommodation for the event to alluring participants to come and join the event, they all have now become a memorable experience that I shall not forget for the rest of my life insyaAllah. No complaints whatsoever but rather precious wisdom that I deeply treasure. Being the director was tough but it kept me motivated realizing that the people who handled similar events years before might have had it tougher; and I thank Allah for the committed team that I had in hand in organising the event. You've no idea how much I appreciate it when you lent your hand and did your tasks without excuses. Thanks a million.

I love them all

Despite some minor unforeseen circumstances that occured in the event, I received positive feedbacks from the people who were involved or participated. It's actually not me who deserve the flattery but rather everyone who has thrown in their effort in calling the event a success. After all I hope it's the contents of the event rthat have eached the participants to the deepest in their hearts. It's the sharing of knowledge that proves how much we care to each other.

"Verily, along with every hardship is relief. So when you have finished [your occupation], devote yourself for Allah's worship. And to your Lord [Alone] turn [all your] intention and hopes."
[Ash-Sharh, 94:6-8]

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Corofin 4

[Real name has been concealed]

“Would you mind if Sarah does the injection for you?”, asked Lisa to our patient who came in today to get his 3-monthly injection of Zoladex LA, a Gonadotrophin Releasing Hormone implant for his prostate cancer.

Silence for 3 seconds.

“Did she ever do one before?” asked the patient worriedly with his notable British accent.

I was screaming ‘Nnoooo’ at the back of my throat but nothing escaped when Lisa replied “Yes, she did one before”. ‘Wh-at? I did not!’, jaw-dropped, it got me speechless.

At that moment only the 3 of us were in the room and the patient was already lying on the bed all set to receive the treatment. “Oh my God, oh my God, what am I going to do?” I panicked in my own skin.

5 mins prior.

“Fancy a subcutaneous injection today?”, asked Lisa.

“Err maybe no, I did one on the mannequin before but never did it on a real person”, I replied.

“Oh okay”

And it was actually just the normal liquid injection that I performed before.

***

“Have a look at the instructions, pet”, said Lisa as she handed me the back of the injection package where the instructions were written. My hands were stone cold and nearly trembled as I ran through the sentences.

‘I’m reading this thing only seconds before the procedure? What sort of a risk am I taking? This is a lifetime’s risk!’ Then only I remembered that I actually never even did a subcutaneous injection on a mannequin. ‘It was intramuscular! What?’

‘Oh my God, oh my God what am I going to do now?’.

‘I cannot just leave it like that. This is your chance Sarah, when else you think you are ever going to be given the trust to perform such an important procedure?’.

The other side of my brain shouted back;

‘But I seriously never did this before, N-E-V-E-R! No joke. And what more this isn’t that typical injection, this is an implant in a pre-filled syringe. Once used, gone!’

Only if I could emulate what I felt at that time with a painting on a canvas, I believe there’d only be jumbled doodles all over with absolutely nothing to decipher. I was stuck between desire and practicality.

I made a quick run-through of the steps but couldn’t understand much due to the burning fright inside. I tried it again but simply couldn’t absorb anything at this peak moment.

Should I get my feet ready to flee from this treatment room, from this medical centre to where, maybe to the Cliffs of Moher not far away from here? I’ve no guts to do this. Should I just give up?

[to be cont'd]

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Corofin 3

That wasn’t my first time drawing blood from a patient.

[Real name has been concealed]

“Ok Mr O’Sullivan my name is Lisa the practice nurse and this is Sarah a practical doctor from Galway. Would you mind if she took the blood off you today?”, said Lisa with that strong yet soft northern accent.

“Oh yes I don’t”

So I shook his hand and smiled as I always did.

“Sarah, the wife of Abraham”- Mr O’S

“Ya you’re right”- Me

“She was 94 when she got Isaac” - Mr O’S

“Oh I’m not sure of the age” –Me

“That’s very old, how would that be possible?”- Lisa

So I drew the blood off his arm while having these 2 things lingering on my mind:

* At least there’s someone in Ireland who knows the history of his religion [Islam and Christianity came from the same root]. At least there’s someone in Ireland who reads his religion’s book. [That I ever met]

* No matter what age we are if He wants to shower us with His bounties, He will.

"Then We gave her good tidings of Isaac and after Isaac, Jacob. She said, "Woe to me! [An expression of surprise and amazement]. Shall I give birth while I am an old woman and this, my husband, is an old man? Indeed, this is an amazing thing!" They said, "Are you amazed at the decree of Allah? May the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house. Indeed, He is Praiseworthy and Honorable.""
[Hud, 11:71-73]

And alhamdulillah it was quite easy obtaining blood from his arm despite him saying that the nurse on maternity leave used to have problems finding his veins. I’m not that good either but just put on that confident face, say bismillah [in the name of God], use your knowledge, and prick! Just hope that you’re not hitting the tendon or artery now. Gotta admit we’re always on the edge.

“We’re nearly there, one more to go”

A few seconds passed.

“So we’re done now, pet”-Lisa

“Was it more painful compared to the one you had last time?”- Me

“Oh no, no” –Mr O’S

“She’s very good isn’t she?” -Lisa

“So you always take people’s blood do you?” -Mr O’S

“Ya, ya, that’s what we do. We’re vampires” –Lisa

And we all burst into laughter as I popped on the band aid on the prick spot.

Fergus View
Corofin, Co. Clare

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Corofin 2

One of the staff was kind enough to offer me a lift from the medical centre I was attached to down to the B&B where I stayed in. It wasn’t too far a distance between the two but far enough to walk back and forth. I’d say around 3-5 miles maybe and the roads were crooked, very narrow with generally no space for pedestrians. Every step along the road with the vroom of the cars right behind the ears made me feel very frightful as if I was about to be knocked down at anytime at all.

We chatted on a bit while she drove me over to the place, which took around 3 minutes drive.

[Real name has not been used]

Emy: So did you have a great weekend, Sarah?

Me : Ya, it was good, and it was Eid yesterday.

Emy: It was wh-at?

Me: Eid. It’s like Christmas for Muslims.

Emy: Oh I see. So what did you do, did you pray all day or have a big dinner?

Me : Ya we had a short prayer in the morning and then we had open houses so we visited our friends’ houses all day.

Emy: So tell me what do you eat, you’re a vegetarian are you?

Me: No, we can eat everything but like the meat, the beef and chicken, they have to be slaughtered in Islamic way.

Emy: Where would you get that then?

Me: Oh we do have halal foodstores in Galway so we’ve no problems with that.

Emy: Where do they get that? Do they import them?

Me: Well I suppose they got them from Dublin maybe.

Emy: So are you a strict Muslim?

Me: Yes I am.

Emy: I see, so you can eat everything, you can eat pork,…

Me: Oh no, ya we can eat everything but not pork.

Emy: And why is that, what is it with pork that you have problem with?

Me: It’s stated in the Quran, our holy book that we can’t eat pork.

Emy: Hmm, that’s rather strange, pork is really good you know. You’re missing out Sarah!

And I just gave out a wee bit laugh presuming she was joking. That ended very soon as we got to my place already then. Only if I could respond to her by saying ‘My life is not about eating’ or ‘That’s what religions are for, for us to be obedient’. But that’d be a bit cold I’d say. Maybe I should’ve had the courage though, also with the tact of course.

“So direct your face [i.e. self] toward the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah [the natural inborn inclination of man to worship his Creator prior to the corruption of his nature by external influences] of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah. That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know”

[ar-Rum, 30:30]

Fergus View
Corofin, Co. Clare

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Corofin 1

As I’m writing this I’m down in Corofin, Clare in one of the rooms of a farmhouse called Fergus View which I’ll be staying for the next 6 days or so. Sitting on my chiropractic bed facing the window overlooking the breathtaking view of County Clare is certainly a bounty from God, a blessing that I’d never thought would ever take place as I round the bends of my life.

"Have they not seen that We drive the water [in clouds] to barren land and bring forth thereby crops from which their livestock eat and [they] themselves? Then do they not see?"
[as-Sajdah, 32:27]

Yesterday was a very bright and sunny day that I found myself lucky enough to have brought along my shades in my already-exploding suitcase. I made it to Ennis Bus Station in the afternoon and inadvertently missed the bus to Corofin as a result of long chats with a middle-aged lady and later, an old chap. Didn’t know how did that happen though, only realized that the bus was gone when the time on my phone passed 3 o’clock, the time in which I should have boarded the bus. What a pity and huge disappointment. Perhaps I was too complaisant seeing a row of taxis by the roadside waiting for passengers which would be my back-ups if I miss the bus and guess what, I did miss the bus.

Corofin Medical Centre is a humble building located at the heart of Corofin. Surprisingly the taxi driver whose taxi I was in didn’t know where the place was that he had to ask his friend and a pedestrian to get the direction to drive over to the medical centre. Obvious message of how remote the place was.

I was supposed to be with Dr Fergus Glynn for the 8-day attachment in Corofin but as he is away to everywhere at the moment another lovely doctor takes over i.e Dr Mary O’Brien. She’s an extremely nice lady who is cheerful all the time, with a smile that hardly fades from her face- a quality which I believe is not easy to be found in someone whose everyday job is always on the ball. She keeps the practice alive and as far as the 2 days I’ve been attached to her not a second I felt uneasy or humiliated or the ‘when-can-I-leave-this-place’ feeling but instead every moment had been fulfilled with fun and knowledge. All praises be to God.

Fergus View

Corofin, Co. Clare

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Galway Excursion

Fancy spending some engaging yet enlightening time outside Galway?

This year PPIMG proudly presents:

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Revisited: Asma' Allah

Raheem MERCIFUL
Kareemun GENEROUS
Adeem MAGNIFICENT
Aleemun ALL-KNOWING
Haleem FORBEARING ONE
Hakeemun PERFECTLY WISE
Mateen FIRM ONE

Mannan BENEFACTOR
Rahmaanun BENEFFICENT
Fattah OPENER
Gaffarun GREAT FORGIVER
Tawwab ACCEPTER OF REPENTANCE
Razzaqun SUSTAINER
Shaheed WITNESS

Allahuma salli ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad
O GOD send Your Peace and Blessings on Muhammad and his family

Ya Muslimeen sallu alayhi
O Muslims send your peace and blessings upon him

Allahuma salli ala Muhammad wa sahbi Muhammad
O GOD send Your Peace and Blessings on Muhammad and his companions

Ya Mu’mineen sallu alayhi
O Believers send your peace and blessings upon him

Lateef SUBTLE ONE
Khabeerun ALL-AWARE
Sami’ ALL-HEARING
Baseerun ALL-SEEING
Jaleel SUBLIME ONE
Raqeebun WATCHFUL
Mujeeb RESPONSIVE
Gafuur ALL-FORGIVING
Shakuurun APPRECIATIVE
Waduud LOVING ONE
Qayuumun SELF-SUBSISTING ONE
Ra’uuf KIND
Sabuurun PATIENT ONE
Majeed MOST GLORIOUS ONE

Allahuma salli ala Muhammad wa ali Muhammad
O GOD send Your Peace and Blessings on Muhammad and his family

Ya Muslimeen sallu alayhi
O Muslims send your peace and blessings upon him

Allahuma salli ala Muhammad wa sahbi Muhammad
O GOD send Your Peace and Blessings on Muhammad and his companions

Ya Mu’mineen sallu alayhi
O Believers send your peace and blessings upon him

Allahu Akbar GOD is THE GREASTEST
La Ilaha illa hu There is no GOD but ALLAH
Al Maliku The SOVEREIGN LORD
Al Quddusu The HOLY ONE
La Ilaha illa hu There is no GOD but ALLAH
Arrahmanu The COMPASSIONATE
Arraheem The MERCIFUL

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya Rahman irham da’fana
O COMPASSIONATE, have mercy upon us

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya Ghaffaru ighfir dhunubana
O GREAT FORGIVER, forgive our sins

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya Sattaru ustur uyubana
O CONCEALER, conceal our faults

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya Mu’izu a’izza ummatana
O BESTOWER OF HONOUR, value our Ummah (nation)

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya Mujibu ajib du’aana
O RESPONSIVE, grant us our supplication

Allahu Akbar
GOD is THE GREASTEST
Ya lateefu ultuf bina
O SUBTLE ONE, be gracious to us

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Smoking kills!

As I walked through the automatic door into the University College Hospital, Galway this morning I noticed an old lady dressed in a pink robe sitting next to the door there. I put a decent smile on my face as she looked at me. A patient that must be. Here it goes again, I mumbled to myself.

The other day [or actually on any given day at all] as I legged up the passageway connecting the Outpatients Department and the Artassist Clinic I made a purposeful glance at this particular bench outside the window. More often than not I would see a handful of people mostly in blue shirts taking their seats there. Be it if the weather was freezing cold or blazing hot that wouldn't be a huge bother for them [If you want to know those dressed in blue scrubs are practicing doctors]. In fact even if they don't even know each other who are also sitting on that particular bench with them they'll still take the weight off their legs there, and you know what that's because they have something in common: they SMOKE!

Ya in Ireland a lot of people smoke regardless of gender and age, even in the university outdoors! I think they think it keeps them warm from inside for some reason. Interestingly in Malaysia women who smoke will receive dirty looks from their spectators, so no wonder we don't often see women smoking in public in the country. At least from my experience never did I ever see that to be honest.

It is actually merely a culture in Malaysia where the woman-smokers don't smoke publicly because they are dreading people's rough perception on them; not because of the fear of the dangers of smoking itself. What's the difference whether you are a lad or a lass really, the point is that you SMOKE. In any way you're more inclined to develop those tremendous devastating diseases compared to those who remain cigarette-free, still. Heart diseases, lung diseases and diabetes -just to name a few- are all related to smoking. Well established now but who cares?

In fact Islam prohibits its believers from smoking, from any actions that bring more bad than good in essence. So if you do smoke you are not only going against your body's right to stay healthy, your religion that forbids you from doing it [I don't know about other religions], your family and peeps as they are now secondary smokers; in addition you're also afflicting the feelings of those who love you as they're going to lose you sooner or see you suffer if you happen to acquire those awful diseases.

"Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful."
[Al-A'raf, 7:157]

The irony is that those people I've mentioned, they all know about the gruesome fact of the complications of smoking yet they fail to assimilate and put them into practice. Let alone the medical practitioners who know very well the pathophysiology of those diseases. Well, to completely wean from cigarettes once you've started is hardly achievable, I totally understand though. Having said that you are then now not entitled to complain if you happened to be diagnosed with a smoking-related disease, 'cause that's the price you have to pay.

There was this one time when I was on the rounds with Mr Sultan's team, apparently Mr Sultan is the Consultant of Vascular Surgery in UCHG. In this one morning when the team went to see this one vascular [pertaining to blood vessels] patient she was not at her bed. With her history of multiple pack years of smoking we suspected that she must had gone somewhere to smoke. Thinking that we'll leave her visit till later we then went down the stairs to get to another ward where we incidentally happened upon her.

I could tell the guilt on her face when everyone in the team watched the consultant emphasizing that she's not helping herself if she still continues to smoke. As I looked at her face I felt like shaking her shoulders [gently, mind you] and question, are you aware of what you are doing? Are you not afraid of losing your limbs?

Sigh, sometimes it's not that they don't want to quit but perhaps they find the longing just too irresistible. Too powerful.

How many pack years have you smoked?

In a nutshell for those who haven't started I advise you not to even think of starting smoking 'cause in simple words once you're in then you're in. Smoking is addictive and is difficult to get away from once you've got hooked up. To those who are giving up smoking, keep on going! Seek help if you need to before it's too late.

P/s: Wondering if hospitals chose not to admit or treat smokers [when they were caught up with a disease related to their own habit], would that result in a plummet in the number of people smoking? -"But doctor, isn't this disease multifactorial?"- Excuses excuses excuses.

*I also have an addiction so I actually kind of understand how hard it is to abstain from something you find pleasure splurging in. My obsession: Food.

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Shopping day

I'd say I spent the whole day today doing nothing but shopping. Hurm, sounds sinful ya? Lol!

The story was that I initially planned to go see Gloria the Lecturer in Medical Informatics in the morning to ask about some details regarding the research that I'm doing, unfortunately she already went out to Sligo as I got to her office. So it seems that I will have to in once again early enough tomorrow morning before my meeting with Orla the statistics student doing Masters who'll be helping me with the data analysis. It's just that I found this research a bit complex that I need to clarify a couple of things with Gloria before beginning the data analysis with Orla. If you don't get what I'm saying, I'm telling you you don't have to perplex yourself trying to understand this, just move on to the next paragraph :P.

So without delay I left the hospital, went to sort out our telephone bill at the post office and then headed off to the city centre to get going with an important mission.

I actually don't go shopping that much to be honest, plus the fact that I'm quite a picky and fussy shopper that make it even more distressing to shop with me lol [But I think I'm fairly good at giving sincere opinions on choices :P]. To make things worse I sometimes have this awful thought that going shopping is merely a waste of time, when I actually can't even promise that if I didn't go out I would do something more beneficial- hopefully though. Anyway alhamdulillah today I managed to force myself to make it; with the aim of looking for some stuff for my family and relatives to bring back to Malaysia. Tough mission that was.

Guess what, the mission wasn't accomplished- as expected. Even with the massive sale everywhere in town I couldn't really find things which were suitable or sensible to grab for.

At least he didn't just sit on the pavement holding an empty cup hoping for sympathy

One good thing about the business in Ireland is that retailers or wholesalers pay great attention to the customer's rights. One rule, customers can always refund their purchase to the store if they found the item unsatisfactory as long as it still lies within the specified dates. For example I just refunded a packet of crabsticks to Aldi store after I discovered that they contain wine as one of the ingredients. In a more peculiar scenario my friend once refunded a plain lettuce and when was asked for the reasons for that she just replied "I just didn't want it". And they accepted that without further ado.

Long journey by foot

Back to the story thank God the weather was just nice, it rained a bit for a while but I wasn't drenched nor soaked to the bone. Despite that I was completely knackered that my legs felt like falling apart and my head was throbbing on my way home out of weariness I thought, or maybe the raindrops. I can feel that at such a young age of 23 I'm already ageing! Simply couldn't imagine how I'd be if I were let live till the ripe senile years if I didn't take a good care of my own health. Indeed health is a huge gift from God to His creations.

This got me thinking, if someone says that I'll surely be a good person and repent when I'm ready, when the time comes or when I'm old as such, the thing is not just how can we guarantee that we'd still be alive when the time has come, but also another question is that when the time comes, how can we be very sure that we'll we be able to materialize what we've promised?

At that delicate age we might have obtained whatever worldy achievements we had always dreamt of; name it wealth, reputation and family but from another angle to look at it we'll no longer be as strong as when we were young don't we? At that time we still have the eyes but we can't see that clearly, we still have the ears but we can't hear that precisely and we still have all the limbs but they're no longer as mighty.

Wheel of Fortune! -Because we've no idea what type of wheel are we going to be on later

So the main point of this entry is that let's together put away this word off our vocabulary:

PROCRASTINATION

"Allah is the One Who created you from weakness, then made after weakness strength, then made after strength weakness and white hair. He creates what He wills, and He is The Knowing, The Competent"
[Ar-Rum, 30:54]

*I admit that I really need to pay extra attention to practice NOT to procrastinate!

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Appalling, appaling

Galway based Gaza campaigner, Treasa Ni Cheannabhain

"The three containers of Galway aid have remained at the Egyptian/Gaza border crossing of Rafah since their arrival in early March in anticipation of permission from the Egyptian government to transfer the aid to the needy Gazans.
However, due to miles of political red tape, the containers have remained in storage and will now never reach their intended destination. The reason given was that the Egyptian authorities have strict rules that only new goods will be allowed across the border crossing point at Rafah into Gaza"

Ah Palestine, how much we have forgotten about you. You crept up on us there some time the moment the dust thrown up by the destructed dwellings filled the Palestinian air; the moment where the splash of Palestinian blood smeared the headlines of the tabloids throughout the world.

In earnest even now you no longer display your name on those various news-carrying sheets, the suffering seems ceaseless. The blood is still there bleeding from the never-healing wounds, and people won't care till the red drops begin to cover their eyes blinding their sight. The dust is still there adorning the Palestinian blue sky, and people won't care till the filthy breeze begin to choke them to death. But this poignant milestone wouldn't shake your spirit, wouldn't shatter your strength to keep still even though the price is too high to pay. My prayers are with you fellow Palestinians!

The excerpt above was taken from an article in the Galway Independent newspaper flung onto my front door this afternoon. What I found inspiring and remarkable in the article was the enthusiasm of this lady, or of Ireland maybe in empathizing the plight of the Palestinians.

Ireland isn't ruled by a Muslim leader, isn't an Islamic country either yet for the reason of humanity and sense of responsibility it decided to do something with regard to this situation rather than just sit back and do nothing [or rather, than pretending like doing something]. And most probably knowing that the invasion of Palestine by the Israel was unethical, it got this Galway-based Gaza campaigner to create the awareness in Galway and draw the Irish's attention to throw in a helping hand at least, thus together contribute whatever they have to deliver to the Gaza.

However the heartbreaking part was the bitter response received from the Egyptian authorities following the attempt to get the aids across the point at Rafah into the Gaza. Tremendous excuses were given out and even the involvement of Irish Embassy couldn't do any help. Disgraceful! Even my superficial thoughts reckon that the blatant excuses given by the Egyption authorities such as "we need paperworks to let those aids in" and "the blankets are not clean so we won't allow dirty stuffs to get across the border" are simply ludicrous.

Don't you think so?

The border

I don't know, I don't want to influence anyone about this but at least I want us together to think about our responsibility as a human being at least. They could be dying in the coldness of the nights but we still think of the unwashed blankets? Even non-Muslim countries volunteered themselves to help, so if we the Muslim countries don't work together with everyone who's also concerned on this issue, it seems that the sufferings of the Palestinians wouldn't come to an end. Come on, wake up guys!

Dear my brothers and sisters in Palestine, never give in and never succumb to all these hardships 'cause I know you're STRONG.

***

My wonders:

1. Where's the voice of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference [OIC]?

2. I have high expectations on Muslim countries given a non-Muslim country could do the above. Have we practically proved that we are really Muslim countries in this sense?

3. If we don't work from now to make all the Muslim countries' government more sensitive to Palestine matters, I wonder when will the time come then. We obviously need to do something to change this! [What can we do?]

"This aid has to get to the people who need it. People's homes have been bombed to pieces. They are standing in tents in the searing heat; they have no food and desperately need the medical aid that was headed their way. It is appalling, absolutely appalling," she said.

* Full article can be found by clicking here.

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London

I just arrived in Galway yesterday morning after spending more than a weekend in the city that never sleeps, London. The story was that I planned to attend an event organized by the Malaysian Students Department, London entitled "Seminar of Islamic Leadership" over the last weekend. The name had been given and was looking forward to the seemingly grand event but suddenly the department deferred the seminar to a yet-to-be-announced date at a very late notice, where at that time my friend and I had bought the flight tickets already. After having some thorough discussion with my friend, we decided not to waste away the money that we've paid to the Ryanair so that was how we ended up in London for about3 days or so.

Honestly London weather was extremely hot that it tanned the skin and kept us sweating all day. Sweater and cardigan were definitely a no-no, instead their places were taken by shades and a bottle of still water, the latter to keep us well hydrated of course. It was an inch away from Malaysian climate I suppose and the air was even drier than Galway air, isn't this what we call SUMMER?

We managed to stroll across London quite deep down to the depths of it. The three days had us completely jaded at the end of every single walk that we always yearned for nothing as we got home except for some rest and slumber... and food too apparently ;).

Intertwined London tubes

The Saturday and Sunday didn't give us any better chance as the Jubilee line was closed on both days so we had to ingeniously find alternative routes and pay attention to the announcements and transportation updates. In spite of this I thought the London transport system deserves a kudos for being able to have everything carefully plotted. The alternative buses provided in place of the not-on-duty tube were very helpful even though we had to walk an extra mile and squeeze our brain hard in order to figure out where to go and which bus were we meant to take. Navigation and map-reading skills progressively developed over that course of time surely ;).

We allotted the Friday for shopping but I ended up getting nothing for myself off the streets. Ya the stinginess and fussiness that once grew in my flesh were just difficult to peel off now hehe. Next we went to Greenwich intending to have a gawk at the imperative line that I once heard the name of in Geography classes; which draws vertically across the globe- the Greenwich Meridian. However the ad hoc plan gave us a rough outcome- the place was closing when we got there. The long walk in the park to reach the line seemed endless that we agreed not to press on but changed our route to the London Central Mosque instead.

London Central Mosque, Regent's Street

The London Central Mosque wasn't the most beautiful mosque in the world but I was completely delighted and thankful that I just realized there it happened to be my first time in the year performing a prayer in a mosque, how pathetic! Furthermore the moment we got lost in the hectic London traffic trying to find our way to the place we incidentally ran into a Portuguese lady who works in London and was also heading to the same place. Alhamdulillah, what more could I wish for then?

Blooming flowers

Cotswold saw us the next day appreciating the beauty of London countryside in the London suburb. Now I knew that there was also a nature side of London that could be found somewhere within its borders, and the small Cotswold might be enough if we want to take a small break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Following that in the afternoon we paid a good sum of money to go in to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium in London. Once in a lifetime admission would suffice I think given the jaw-dropping ticket price, as what in there were those weird stuff and some videos like what we would watch on its tv programme as well as some games like mirror maze which were not too bad really.

On the subsequent day I stepped my feet for the first time in the largest Carboot sale of London, first time ever at a carboot sale actually. The business is very straightforward, bring out what you've got to offer [off your carboot of course], set a price and simply put them on display. It could be anything at all from gleaming trinkets to potteries to a scooter! The setting reminded me to the morning market or Pasar Tani that I used to go with my mum every Friday back in Malaysia. Oh memories! Anyhow of all the cheap items offered, all I got was the Advanced Banter Book of Quotations at the price of 1 pound when the initial proposed price was 14.99 pounds. Others who went along with me got themselves wall decorations, board games, books, jewelry box etc, fine!

In the afternoon without delay we headed over to the Gunther von Hagen's Bodyworlds & The Mirror of Time exhibition in London that once took place in Dublin. If in Ripley's Odditorium we were allowed to take as many photos as we wished, this exhibition went totally the other way around. No cameras, no foods and beverages, no touching, no everything! [This photo on the right was taken from the link that I put- A man holding up his skin].

Anyhow it was a stunning work I have to say really. The job was so delicately done that he sliced up each layer of real human bodies very carefully to preserve every single part, and it was indeed a huge success. For example there was this one plastinate of a man riding a horse; the man was cut into 3 layers making it looked like sort of three men on the horse; the first man was the one with the skin, the second man was made up of the muscles and the third man was made up of the bones. To make an extra effect even the horse was beautifully dissected exposing its muscles and the horse-rider was holding his brain on one hand and a hockey stick on the other. And they're real human [and horse, I think] body[s]. Impressive! I can't say more to explain how great the work was as you'll only be able to admit it if you saw it with your own naked eyes.

The funny [or annoying? Nope, lol] part was that I was asked not once but twice about my age. On the second time the guard in the room politely asked for my ID to prove that I'm above the approved age i.e 16 as he said I looked so young lol. The reason for this was because there was this one part of the exhibition showing the human reproductive organs which was indeed very frank and overt. No need to explain this further but it was quite disturbing seeing some plastinates with improper acts being displayed. Not really improper as in improper but maybe we don't need to be too honest in sending the message? I don't know.

Seeing how brilliant the dissection work was done sparked in me how skillful Gunther von Hagens is. Yet again that brought me to how remarkable the human body is and so how Magnificent God is. Subhanallah.

"And on the earth are the signs for the certain [in faith] and in yourselves. Then will you not see?"
[Adh-Dhariyat, 51:20-21]

The more we look into ourselves the more we realize how great God's creations are thus how Great He The Creator is.

And so I shall end my travelogue here.

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Green green grass

It wasn't the first time that I came across an email on the below, and I thought perhaps it would be helpful to now translate them into English so that more people can appreciate their meaning. Anyhow hopefully they correspond well with the original version.

Sometimes we came out with difficult questions about life that we just couldn't find their answers. What more during hard times, we felt like life is just not giving in to us, as if everything seems completely unfair and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Yet we are still complaining..

Come here, it's not yet the end of the world. Indeed Allah has actually answered our long list of questions in His great book, the Holy Quran. Let's together discern the meaning of these verses so that we'll learn that everything happens for a reason. Wallahu'alam.

Why am I tested?

"Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, "We believe", and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false."
[Al-Ankabut, 29:2-3]

Why do I not get what I want?

"... But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But Allah knoweth, and ye know not."
[Al-Baqarah, 2:216]

Why am I imposed with such a huge test?

"On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear."
[Al-Baqarah, 2:286]

I feel depressed!

"So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith."
[Ali-Imran, 3:139]

How am I going to deal with this?

"Nay, seek ((Allah)'s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,- Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him"
[Al-Baqarah, 2:45-46]

What do I get from all this hardship?

"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise)"
[At-Taubah, 9:111]

To whom do I lean on?

"Say: "(Allah) sufficeth me: there is no god but He: On Him is my trust,- He the Lord of the Throne (of Glory) Supreme!"
[At-Taubah, 9:129]

So let's together be strong and support each other ;).
As the saying goes, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going!

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Buon giorno!

[This entry has been outfitted with relevant links for further clarifications. Pardon my technical vocab.]

"Calling for medical doctors, if there's any medical doctor on the aircraft please report yourself to the cabin crew. Thank you."

A couple of minutes passed.

"We are calling for medical doctors on the aircraft, please report yourselves to the cabin crew. Thank you".

My friends and I were scattered on the Ryanair plane thus didn't get to sit next to each other. Upon hearing the announcement we instantly looked at each other with a question mark on our faces wondering what was on about with the calls. All shrugged the shoulders in curiosity. Also whispers began to rise among the passengers who were so intrigued to know what's the matter.

At the Dublin Airport

This incident took place last 2 years during winter where we were on board for a flight from Dublin, Ireland to Venice, Italy. The four of us took two separate buses from Galway at the midnight prior and arrived in the Dublin Airport in the wee hours. So no doubt we were completely sleep-deprived and knackered. The only thing listed in my mind while waiting for the check-in counter to open was that as soon as I stepped my feet into the plane I would straight away perform the Fajr prayer and then doze off!

"Excuse me, can I ask why did they call out for doctors?" My friend who was a final year medical student at that time stopped a steward who was passing by along the aisle, to end the crave for information that nested in our chests.

"Well, there's a patient with tachycardia on the front seat there", his forefinger pointed to a direction to show where the poor patient was seated.

"Oh I see", she responded while everyone else who was also putting on their ears nodded in comprehension.

It felt much better that at least now we knew what was happening in the plane but something that I would like to point out here is that I was totally impressed with the use of 'tachycardia' by the steward. The term is actually very technical but he used it so naturally that I thought 'oh ya the people here are relatively used to using medical jargons in their daily conversation despite having no medical background'. Impressive, impressive.

With my shallow knowledge in medicine at that time I began to make my own hypotheses using my own algorithm. Uhm tachycardia doesn't necessarily imply a very serious event, it could happen in any situation. Even sitting for an exam can cause increased heart rate! ;) Therefore it's highly imperative for doctors to have a peek at a patient's full history and clinical presentations before anything else to avoid making a hasty conclusion. Investigations and managements should follow consequently but in a mere aircraft, what investigation tool can we expect?

"Should I go?" My final med friend nudged my arm for an opinion.

"Err ya of course. There seemed to be no medical doctors in the plane so why not, go ahead and see what ye can do!" Among the four of us, two were final meds and the other two including me were second meds.

So off they went to the front trying to lend a hand just if they could be of any help. I was like, wasn't that grand, I wished I was a doctor already ;). Soon insyaAllah. And then I went to perform the ablution to get ready for the Fajr prayer.

I managed to snooze in my seat for quite a while and as I woke up I saw that the girls' seats were still vacant. So I stood up and caught the sight of the two girls in the forefront. They're like doctors already, I monologued with a smile. I then sat back on the armchair and turned my head to the window to appreciate the view outside along the journey.

The scenery was absolutely marvelous! With the discrete layers of fluffy clouds which would definitely look like the sticky-sweet candy floss if drawn together, plus the neatly arranged dwellings which appeared very teensy and even much smaller than the house and hotel miniatures that we use to connote our properties when playing the board game Monopoly. Imagine we ourselves in the houses, how insignificant we were in the eyes of The Creator!

The extraordinary panorama that differed this flight with the previous flights that I had boarded was the flawless white snow coating the mighty Alps just like the confectioner's sugar frosting icing the top of a hot, freshly baked cinnamon roll. [Some exaggerations here- anyhow why are my illustrations all food-based I wonder ;)]. But ya, it was stunningly beautiful. Looking up on the internet I just picked up on the fact that the mountains of Alps actually stretch from Austria and Slovenia in the east; through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany; while to France in the west. How incredible are God's creations! Subhanallah.

"And it is He Who spread out the earth, and placed therein firm mountains and rivers and of every kind of fruits He made Zawjain Ithnain [two in pairs- may mean two kinds or it may mean: of two varieties, e.g. black and white, sweet and sour, small and big]. He brings the night as a cover over the day. Verily, in these things, there are Ayat [proofs, evidences, lessons, signs] for the people who understand."
[Ar-Ra'd, 13:3]

While I was diligently contemplating the breathtaking view outside, my attention was shattered by another announcement;

"Attention to all passengers, we're arriving in the Venice Treviso Airport shortly. We would like to remind the passengers to put on the seatbelts and...."

Beautiful Venice

So there we were, the plane finally touched down the land of the Byzantine Empire gracefully. The four of us only got back together at the baggage collection area. As we lined up at the immigration counter to get our passports stamped, a middle-aged bloke who was on the same plane as we were greeted our two final med heroes, "Life savers!".

We just chuckled and smiled. Proud of ye, girls! ;)

Later on our friends came to unfold the details of the story on what actually happened at the front seats. Apparently the tachycardic lady already had a preexisting disease, hypertension I think [forgot it at the moment]. So when suddenly her heart began to beat very quickly that situation alarmed her companion whom then sought the cabin crew's attention just to prepare for the worst case scenario.

Sometimes, or perhaps most of the time we have to be careful not to take patients' complaints as they are. As not everyone uses the term 'tachycardia' in the correct context so it could plainly mean that it's just that the heart itself suddenly beats faster than usual or it could also suggest palpitations which could be life-threatening if it involves fatal arrhythmias. So now maybe airline companies should consider equipping their aircraft with ECG device then? Hehe ;)

The most interesting part of the story was that the girls were kept at the front seats while 'paying attention' at the lady's progress. So they were given exclusive treatment by the cabin crew- a cup of hot drink each plus the wide and comfy front seats! And even one of the girls got the chance to enter the cockpit to speak to the pilot or co-pilot [I wasn't so sure but I believed of course it wasn't the one 'driving' the plane lol], just to explain what was going on and to discuss the necessity of turning back the plane; which was like, wow! How grand that was!

Anyhow the thing that they had to let go of was: SLEEP!

So that was a memorable incident we encountered en route from Dublin to Venice on the Ryanair aircraft. What a happy ending, alhamdulillah.

The End.

**********

In memory of those who lost their family members in the Air France's Airbus A330-200 Rio de Janeiro- Paris tragedy; I would like to express my heartfelt condolence to those inflicted. My best wishes are with you and may you be given the strength to endure this painful moment and poignant point in time. Whoever who lives shall die, it's us who are still alive whom have to press on with this life's journey.

"..."To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return" "
[Al-Baqarah, 2:156]

Wallahu'alam.

*some alterations were made on the storyline.

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"Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe" [al-Qalam, 68:1]

Me

"A humble traveler on the world of His"

The World, From My Eyes

Exam Mode

Q & A {K.I.V.}

Breathless

Corofin 4

Corofin 3

Corofin 2

Corofin 1

Galway Excursion

Revisited: Asma' Allah

Smoking kills!

Shopping day

Appalling, appaling

London

Green green grass

Buon giorno!

"Nun. By the pen and what they inscribe" [al-Qalam, 68:1]

Me

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