One Week . . .

Well, only 7 days left before I fly back. Had a few setbacks - my friends are arriving in KL on the 8th, while I'm arriving on the 6th of July. So, I've no idea where to go or what to do for 2 days! And the promise of a refrigerator failed to materialise. We'll have to clean up the place in a jiffy - class starts on the 11th. There'll sure be the debates over what to get and what not to get. And the transport arrangements. We're heading for a crazy weekend indeed.

Anyway, to a lighter mood.
Last 3 - 6 June, my family and I had a great time during the Churh Camp held at Prot Dickson. Well, during the baptism service of the 2nd day, someone noticed a snake swimming in the seawater and started screaming. The snake was already among us by-standers by that time, so no point in running. And since I had the digital camera with me, I decided to take a snap, just for memories. After the snap, it swam on to a group of people on the other side of the beach. Mercifully, no one was bitten or attacked. Perhaps it was already full? Here it is below:

IPTA results out

The results for the applications into public universities have been released. This time around, there is no repeat of last year's fiasco of top scorers not getting into their applied courses, especially Medicine. Remember the infamous 128 of 2004 who got a CGPA of 4.0 and couldn't get into Medicine? Not too surprising - 2004's STPM top graders were only 360-plus, while during my year (2003) it was 700-plus. So, the drop was enough to avoid leftovers crying foul. Things seem to be better this time around ... seemingly for now.

Read NST's story for the details and numbers:

GOOD NEWS FOR TOP SCORERS

A few excrepts:

'Save for one student, all top scorers who applied for places in medical faculties here for the 2005/2006 academic session were successful'

'Hassan said top scorers who applied for all other competitive courses such as law and dentistry were also successful'

'He said even those with CGPA lower than 4.0 managed to secure places for medicine this year."We have got some with 3.8 and 3.9. We have created more places this year and the number of those with a CGPA of 4.0 is less." '
(A-R-G-H! Those who still remember my STPM's CGPA should understand why ...)

'Some 25,000 or 62.4 per cent of places in the universities went to Bumiputera students, 12,802 or 32 per cent went to Chinese, and 2,233 or 5.6 per cent went to Indians.
Last year, 24,837 Bumiputeras or 63.8 per cent were offered places, Chinese students secured 11,778 or 30.3 per cent of places, while Indians got 2,277 or 5.9 per cent of places'

OUCH! - teeth problems

What can ruin a day? A toothache can be one big spoiler.

My teeth has always been causing trouble since my earlier years. A childhood nightmare would be getting dragged to the government dental clinic for a procedure, or being called to the dental clinic in my elementary school, Ong Tiang Swee. Altogether, I required 3 extractions (all of which were my baby teeth - thankfully!) and a host of fillings. I'd better be careful of magnets - all my molars might be ripped out of my mouth if I walk too near to one of those electromagnetic monsters they use at car-dumps. Perhaps it was due to my fascination with all things sweet during the old days.

Anyway, several months ago, a piece of my teeth broke off, and I only noticed it after a few days. It wasn't painful - and I was and am still very much afraid of dentists! - so I decided to let it be. During our family excursion back to West M'sia a few weeks ago, it started to cause trouble when I took hot or cold stuff. Ignorance was bliss for awhile - but the continued trouble finally forced me to see that to do something about it. Only problem was that I came down with my flu, fever and sore throat, and a bad cough took over once those were settled. My appointment with the dentist was delayed for a few weeks. Finally, by God's grace, my cough sputtered out as the week before this drew to a close. Even so, I pushed the idea of going to the dentist out of my mind for the weekend - too dreadful. Since I didn't want to take care of my teeth, I guess it decided to take things into it's own hands.

When I woke up this morning, I had no idea what was about to hit me. After I took my breakfast, I noticed that the right side of my jaw felt funny, but I let it be. As the morning progressed, the discomfort morphed into pain. When I went to pick my brother and two of his friends from school, the pain was such a nuisiance that I was unusually quiet during the whole journery; observed and noted by my brother. After lunch, the pain really kicked in. Worse, it spread from my teeth to the entire right side of my face. Y-E-O--C-H! Soon, even my right eye became painful, in a phenomenon known as referred pain. I gave up any pretense of bearing it; I called up the dental surgery I usually frequent. I found out to my horror that it was packed till tomorrow afternoon - no way could I last that long. I was too blur to call up the others that I've never been to, so I tried to sleep. I tossed and turned with each wave of the pain, till I finally decided to call the dental surgery again out of sheer desperation. Praise God that they had some free time, as their list of patients for this afternoon had been completed. However, I couldn't drive - my right eye was involuntarily closing due to the pain, and the pain was a vicious distraction to my attention. In the end, I had to pathetically ask my mum to bring me over, rather than risk any incident on the road.

I arrived there without incident and waited till the last patient was done with. I pointed out the tooth causing the agony - the 2nd last molar on the upper right jaw. After a quick examination, he declared that the tooth had a chipped off part, and through that hole, microbes had entered and caused an infection. The dilemma - pull it right out, or attempt to save it? At first I was leaning towards pulling it out; get it over with! He went on to warn that this was my permanent tooth - once it's gone, it's gone. In my childhood, they could extract 3 without worry, as they would be replaced by the permanent ones. This wouldn't be the case now. Worse, it was one of the molars used to grind food, and it was the central among the 3 molars. Once it was gone, chewing with the right side of my mouth would be troublesome at best. Prospects of dentures, teeth implants and bridging floated before my eyes. And I'm only 21! On the other hand, if he re-sealed the tooth and gave medication to kill off the infection, I did not relish the possibility of the procedure failing and enduring a WEEK of agony. Weighing one against the other, I finally chose reluctantly to save it; reason was victorious over compulsion. As expected, the filling procedure was excruciating (though not as bad as an extraction or a root canal procedure - trust me, you wouldn't want one!) since the tooth was already infected. However, he had to use a temporary filling as my gums around the area were bleeding profusely - a sign of their infection and inflammation. When I rinsed my mouth several times during the filling, the whole water basin was red with blood. But, it ended anyway and I gratefully got up. Within a few minutes, the pain subsided; causing the dentist to suspect that the real problem was a gum infection, not the tooth itself - it was secondary. Relieved, I went back home a happy man - the staggering pain was gone. But, I am to return in a weeks time, to replace the filling with a permanent one. I cringe at the further pain sure to be inflicted; but better to save the tooth I'll be using till old age. Ah well ... bad dental hygiene always catches up with you sooner or later.

General headlines of interest:

* The disastrous F1 'race' in Indianapolis, USA with only 6 cars is simply maddening - and all because of tyres! The situation wasn't helped by a rule-laden FIA crazed on sticking to the book. And this wouldn't help F1 promotion in the USA at all; many were furious at the waste of money spent just to get to the racetrack, only to witness a farce! And no news on refunds just yet.

* Water shortages have already hit Negri Sembilan (water-rationing is already enforced in Seremban), and threaten parts of Johor and Selangor. The irony being that it's raining almost constantly here in Sarawak. Perhaps sending a few rain clouds over would help them out?

* The PTPTN is in really bad shape, as clearly shown in the 8pm 'Buletin Utama' of TV3. Their payment records are in tatters and it is trying to search out for funds to continue helping out needy students in institutions of higher learning.

PTPTN revelations

As far as I knew, many people in universities with PTPTN loans aimed to get 1st class honours because that entitled them to get their PTPTN loan changed from a loan to a full scholarship. I've even heard a few of my University mates say so. But that's all about to change with this:

PTPTN: NO CONVERSION OF LOANS INTO SCHOLARSHIPS

Pickings from the article:

'Students enrolling at institutions of higher learning from next month will not have their National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans converted into scholarships if they graduate with first-class honours'
' "Those studying under loan now will still enjoy the privilege. The change will only be applicable to those graduating in three to four years," Higher Education Minister Datuk Shafie Salleh said after attending a ceremony at the Kolej Yayasan UEM campus in Lembah Beringin, about 70km north of here today.'
(Ack - so that means my generation might be included in the unfortunate group!!)

Reason given?

'This is part of a move to reduce the bill incurred by the corporation.'
'The PTPTN was recently reported to have borrowed RM2 billion from the Employees’ Provident Fund in 2002 for study loans to some 100,000 students. It, however, failed to collect RM8 billion owed by 650,000 students.'

No wonder then.
So, that just might cause a drop in those who get excellent academic results. You know; the incentive in getting 1st class is no longer there, so only those who want to excel - or simply want to show off! - will be getting 1st class honours.
On the other hand, it isn't a very good piece of news, as there are poor people out there who didn't manage to get scholarships, so they're depending on the PTPTN. For them to pay it back would be an extra burden once they exit into the working world. Some might be the prime bread-winner of the family once they graduate. Now that there's no way that they can escape from paying, it's going to be tough for some of them. For me, my loan is not much, only a few thousand. For others, it can reach tens of thousands, depending on their course and its duration. That's heavy.
This is shameful, as this happens because people simply aren't paying back their loans, so the government can no longer afford for people to not pay back the loans. The statistic above shows why. So typical of us Malaysians. The innocent suffer because of the wrong of the many.

And another part:

'Shafie said the Cabinet had directed the ministry to have another look at ways in which study loans were disbursed.
"In future, not all students will be entitled to a PTPTN loan. They will really have to be needy and deserving to get a loan."
"Parents working with the public sector will have to show their E forms to prove that they really cannot afford their children’s education before getting a loan. We are still deciding on the lowest salary one should be earning for their children to be eligible for a loan." '

Wow ... so, that means they'll try to filter out the applicants this time around; not trying to give to as many as possible. A paradigm shift indeed.

Driving blues, and a fire along Jln Wan Alwi

Today my parents had a meeting in the evening to discuss about an upcoming event, so it was up to me to send and pick my bro from his BM tuition downtown. As I drove around downtown, I noticed that my old driving confidence was gone; stolen by the last near-epileptic attack 3 weeks ago. Every turning held a new terror and fear. I could be stuck at intersections and junctions for more than 5 minutes - the same ones where I'll just shoot right out into incoming traffic without a care but a few weeks ago. Uncertainty kept my foot off the accelerator as I looked down both sides of the road - is the road really empty, or did I miss a car or two while taking that glance just now? Can I really make it pass that car in time? and etc. Downright debitilating. Even my brother noticed and commented on it.

As I went up to pick my brother around 8.50-plus pm, I passed the intersection of Jln Song and Jln Laksamana Cheng Ho; hurrying along as I was late. Suddenly, the car in front of me braked to almost a stop, and I had to slam on the brakes to avoid crashing into the other car's back. Apparently the cars on all 3 lanes had slowed down also. I wondered why; looking out for an accident or any other reason for the traffic congestion. Nearing the Simpang Tiga Flyover, I saw that a few cars had parked on the side curb, and their occupants were getting down to cross the road. I turned to see at the other side of the road - and saw the reason for all the chaos: there was a building on fire. In typical Malaysian style, everyone was so interested in getting the juicy visual details that the flow of traffic was clogged. As I drove on, I passed a few police cars and fire trucks, all obviously heading towards the direction of the fire.

After picking my brother up from his tuition centre near the SUPP building, we decided to be 'busybody' and pass by that same section of road - you know; to see the fire again. ;-) As I drove down the Simpang Tiga flyover, a huge jam had formed from King Centre towards the Jln Song and Jln Laksamana Cheng Ho intersection. No wonder; with people like us joining in the commotion and trying to get a view of the yellow flames. True Malaysians; the both of us. As we passed by the fire, we saw that the police had cordonned off the area, and the fire department people were busily trying to douse the flames. They seemed to be putting it out, as the flames were smaller than when I passed them 10 minutes ago. Don't quite remember what was the building that was standing there - passed the area so many times but never actually paid attention. I think it was a warehouse or squatter; something like that. Hope that no one got killed or hurt in the fire.

Continue my W M'sia trip commentary next time

pic taken while on the North-South highway 

Annual trip back, Pt 1

After a few nights’ rest, I've finally recovered enough from my fever and sore throat to start writing 'bout this pretty trip back. First of all, this trip is probably the last time I'll actually follow my family for the whole annual trip back during the 2 weeks midyear school break. For those who aren't familiar, my family and I usually return to West M'sia once a year to visit our relatives and attend the annual church camp. We'd returned without fail year after year, since I was born. So this is like, my 21st time over with my family? Next year, I'll be having my industrial training during my 2 month interyear break; so I guess I can only take a weekend off for the Church Camp itself. And then the year after that? Haven't the slightest clue - maybe already out there searching for a job? Or going for Masters? Sad, but that's how life is - school's got to end someday, and so does its accompanying hols. From a point of view, I didn't feel like going (for goodness sake, it's the LAST one!), but I also want to go as this is THE final journey. Another inevitable milestone towards adulthood.
And then the nightmare began.

We were supposed to leave on a 6pm flight to KLIA 2 Fridays ago (27.5). Around 2-something, my dad told me to go out and get a DVD-RW disc pronto. So, off I went to Compuway in Central Park, searched around abit, and then was on my way straight home with a DVD-R instead. (Imagine this; a DVD-R was only for RM2.90, while a DVD-RW was for RM29.00!). As I passed the apartment buildings on my left, an epileptic aura came over me and everything went blur. I closed and squeezed my eyes, expecting my sight to clear out. Only problem was that it didn't. Images from my memory bank appeared to mingle with the world of reality. My field of sight became like a jigsaw puzzle that's all jumbled up. That dreaded humming sound that appears during an epileptic episode also showed up. Worse, sounds and voices from past memories also started to cloud my hearing. Panic was a natural response - I could barely see the road; much less the cars in front. Sometimes they seemed to float in mid-air; but at least I knew they were in front. I closed one eye to minimise the information that I had to sort through; my prayers being reduced to a desperate "God, help" as my hay wired brain couldn't articulate anything longer than that. I kept the car at a constant velocity; too afraid to stop by the side of the road as I couldn't clearly see where I was heading - I might crash into a gate or pillar or nosedive into a drain before my patchwork vision catches on. And there was also that horror of horrors topmost on my mind - the possibility of getting a full-blown tonic-clonic seizure on the road. Thankfully, when I reached the Eastmoore-Twin Tower traffic junction, the light had just turned red. I stopped and closed my eyes, still praying fervently. After a minute or two, I opened my eyes, but it was still the same. I positioned my eyes carefully to make sure I could see the traffic light - there were a number of brand new temporary 'blind-spots' in my vision field to avoid. Once the light turned green, it was a slow journey past Eastmoore, SIB, turning right into Jln Stampin, past the Association of Churches building and just going on slowly. I could vaguely see a car or two overtaking me, and seeing the speedometer at 40 KM/hour. Only when I reached home did my eyesight finally return to normal; though still a little patchy.

Okay, after hearing that, I hope everyone is still confident of sitting in a car that I'm driving. :-D An attack or the premonition of an attack has no physically visible symptom, meaning that you can't see any sign that alerts you to the fact that I'm having an episode. Perhaps if we're having a conversation, and I suddenly stop answering, or I suddenly stop humming a song I was humming, and so on - those are the only signs I think you can get. Unless I'm getting a full-blown tonic-clonic, then you'll be screaming as the car swerves off the road to a certain accident. ;-) RITE - thank God, so far, no such incident. And when something like this usually happens, it's when I'm alone.

The 'cute' thing that day was that my flight was in 3 hours - argh! Obviously, after all the planning and packing, my parents were in no mood of postponing the flight or anything to that effect. After forcing myself into a short nap, I'd recovered enough to endure the trip to the airport and the flight over. Normally, a flight would have been nothing much, but since it was just a few hours after a near-attack, I felt funny and nauseated throughout the flight and drive from KLIA to my grandma's place. And having sat in quite a few B737-400's over the past year have made me claustrophobic of it's crampy insides. A 10pm dinner didn't help either. I took to bed early, leaving my capable and still enthusiastic brother to entertain my bubbly young cousins. It was going to be one long weekend - Sat: drive down to Pontian, Johor; Sun: to JB, then Singapore, then back to JB then Pontian; Monday: back up to KL. *Whew*

(to be continued)

Return

hey there everyone. Just arrived back here around 4.50pm on an AIRBUS A330-200. Been a REALLY busy and hectic 2-week holiday. I'll post more later ... Am still tired and drowsy as recovering from an illness that started over in KL, and my dad's flying over tomorrow (or is it actually today?) back to KL to attend my aunt's husband's funeral down in Singapore tomorrow. Other details, wait till later then. Ciao!