No Operation For Me

As some of you guys might have already know, I was about to undergo an operation on my right knee. I had injured and tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a rugby match during my years back in KMB. It is painless for most of the time but succumb to the fact that I can't play any rough sports due to this injury is something that is difficult for me to take. And for me to regain full recovery and strength, I need to have that surgery.

But, guess what? Yeah, you're right if your guess is based on the title of this entry. It got cancelled!

Why you ask?

The answer lies on the specialists. There are only four orthopedics specialist in the hospital and believe it or not, they are all fully booked till August. I was surely in a dismay state at that time and tried to plea if I could ft in any slot for the surgery. But my effort came to no avail. There was even this one specialist, he even opened up his diary in front of me to prove that he has at least 2 surgeries to be done each day till August. If I really wanna have the surgery, I need to stay back till August and extend my summer holiday till September. That is something I can't afford to do.

Another thing is that the doctors explained to me that my injury is not an emergency case. Which means that they will hold me back to give priority for the most needy ones. Get in the queue lad!!

I would have the surgery if I were to stay here till September, but that's not gonna happen because I will be leaving Malaysia quite early this year as my clinical classes will commence on the 1st of September.

I have thought of getting the surgery in a private hospital, but the doctor said that it would cost about RM6000 in total. My parents would surely stand against that idea as we are really tight in our expenditure for that kind of amount.

Then, the final resort would be having the surgery back in Manchester. UK has a really good welfare system for students because I don't have to pay a single penny if I have my surgery there. All of it will be taken care by the National Health Service. Sounds great, huh? Only the problem is, I'm not sure where I could fit in the time for surgery and recovery as my timetable would be really packed for next term. Bear in mind, starting from next term, I will be having my clinical studies in South Manchester Hospital from 9 to 5 for most of the day. Even commuting from my home to the hospital would take about 40 minutes one way. Will I have the time for the surgery then?

I am in a complete state of nothingness right now. I guess it's another year of 'sport-less' for me then. No intense running. No tackling. No kicking. Well, i could do for a jog, but that just wouldn't cut it. My closest friends sure knows how much I like to have my adrenaline and blood rushing through sports. Let's just hope that next year will fly past really fast and all goes well, shall we?

Don't Stop Believing

This is my new obsession! Glee's official theme song - Don't Stop Believing.

I've been listening to this song since I've started watching this TV show when I got back home from Manchester. Well, when you don't have anything to do, you would eventually find something interesting to fill up your time.

Enjoy this catchy song! It surely does made my day and could lift up a fainted spirit :)

No More Scholarship For Studying Overseas

My title for this entry may sounds harsh and could make any hopeful students worried, but the real situation is actually not that severe. The Public Service Department (PSD) is not entirely stopping giving out their scholarship but their scholarships will be given for those undergraduates who will be studying at local universities or postgraduates studies. If you would like to have a PSD scholarship at undergraduate level, you must get an offer from top universities in the world such as Harvard, Cambridge or Oxford, which I doubt will be easy as other foreign universities due to their extreme high standards and quota.

The original article can be found here.

Now, let us reflect this kind of action taken by the current government. Is is fair to stop giving out scholarships to study abroad? I mean, the scholarships are actually taxes payed diligently by citizens of Malaysia every year. So, is it fair for the government to handle the people's money this way? Is this action considered as depriving the bright children from getting better quality of education abroad?

Every year, about 1500 bright students will get the PSD scholarship to study abroad. But it seems that this number is not enough as we will always see complaints from unsatisfied parents who thinks that their child supposed to get it. To tell you the truth, I think this incidence will happen every year because the number of 'intelligent' students are increasing day by day - blame it on the advanced technology and workbooks! 'Intelligent' here for me actually refers to student nowadays who are just memorizing past years questions and then expect to get an 'A' for every subjects. Not much of a thinker. So, let's just stop the scholarship and no one will get to study abroad. And no students who just memorized all their way get to fly overseas. It's much fairer that way.

And then, people might say that the number of universities in Malaysia is not enough. I think now there are many universities in our own country who could cater the needs of education for our own students. Lets say that most of the students in this nation wants to read medicine. Before this, there were only like 5 universities which offer this course, thus places are limited and highly competitive. But now, there are more medical schools than that - we now have IMU, CUCMS, MSU, AIMST and much more. Hence, the number of places is not a problem anymore.

There are still out there who might associates studying in a foreign university with a much more glamorous status. Yes, I admit studying oversea brings much attention to me. But that is only if this case is being looked by lay-minded people. The new generations now must have been aware that it doesn't matter where your degree comes from, but it is the passion and desire in the profession that matters. Maybe this action of stopping giving out the scholarships will shattered the dreams of many students who dreamt of playing snow during winter or travel around Europe, but it is for the betterment of the future. Besides, if you want to play in the snow, or go on a eurotrip, you can always do that whenever you have worked. It's much more worth it. Trust me ;)

Don't Tell Anybody

Sometimes, our heart is longing something that we will never get.

Finally, I'm Home

It has been 3 days since the moment I step my foot back in my beloved home. I finally got to fulfill my cravings for a 'roti canai' in a mamak stall for breakfast, eat my mum's cookings and assimilate with the hot and humid weather of Malaysia. Probably, if I'm lucky enough, I'll get tan a little bit. So far, so good.

As it is also a time for school holidays, a lot of wedding ceremonial events are taking place and many invitations needs to be attend. In my large family, two of my closest cousins are not going to miss this opportunity as they will be getting married and lead on a more prosperous life with their new spouses. Well, I have actually missed one of them because I was still in Manchester. Guess there's only one left and it looks like I have lend a hand in helping the preparation.

I am aware that in my comfortable state at home, there are still lots of my friends who are still struggling doing revisions and practicing for their exams. Honestly, there are some feelings and desire inside of me to upload some nice and tasty pictures of me in Malaysia that would make them jealous. But, I keep refraining myself from doing that to avoid from any harm that would effect them mentally (nasib baik korg - apip dgn klone :p)

And not to forget for the person who will be having the biggest exam in the year. All the best and may Allah help you in answering all the exams questions that will be asked to you. Good luck!!