Treasured Award

Thank you very much for this sweet award, dear Richard!


What a wonderful surprise!

To all my friends out there, please grab this because all of you are special and our friendship is woven through writings/postings on your blogs. Awards like these are meaningful.

Thank you again, my friend. I'm not sure why I can't seem to post comments on your blog, but I'm still trying! So if you see this, please know that your tag is much appreciated! :)

Lazy Dogs

Who says three's a crowd? ;)

Ooohhh.. trust me.

I'm going to spend my weekend like these mongrels.

I'm just gonna sleep in, till noon and not go anywhere.

Maybe I will.. but only after I get enough sleep!

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Conference Completed

Yeahhh, I attended the 2nd/final day of Romanovskii conference. It was rather quiet compared to yesterday. I guess most of the participants have collected enough freebies.

Hehehehe and never showed up again. I received more brochures/leaflets/advertisements today, less usable items. It would be damn embarrassing to sweep bagfuls of testers from the same people and they recognise my face. Donwan, I scared.

Iasonas came too (how come my line sounds familiar.. did I say this already). We were torn between sitting for Dr.Olisova’s presentation or Prof.Kochergin’s. One was in the Red Hall and the other, Blue hall. If timing was perfectly punctual, we could have attended both. First for Dr.Olisova then run to the other wing for Prof.Kochergin.

Unfortunately, the conference was held back by 20mins. Both rooms were on their own watches so we stayed put in the Blue hall.

In the Blue hall (corresponds to the colour of the seats)

I was trying to pay attention LOL

Prof. Kochergin's presentation of Крапивница
Krapivnitsa known as Urticaria or Hives in Layman's term

That's the man

Iasonas was even better, recorded his entire presentation

I caught the cameraman again LOL

On the 5th February commemorates the passing of V.A.Romanov at the Novodevichy Monastery (down the road from my hospital). The notice behind the programme book writes that whoever interested to join may gather at the lobby of my hospital at noon.

Hahahahaha I'm contemplating to join in the party. See first :)

Romanovskii Conference

Quote of the Day : "Berlin is the capital of syphilis" - Dr.Peter K.Kohl

Our department held the 26th Annual Romanovskii Conference, a 2-day event at the main building of MMA. It's a huge affair for dermatologists from all over Russia and abroad.

I'm not really sure yet who was Professor V.A. Romanov but his scientific researches, journals and book writings of man's largest organ (no, not that one) in his time, were bibles.

I showed up before 8.30am. I was so damn early, I could have helped set up some stalls. As usual, cosmetics and skin care/product agents are always present. I bagged a lot of goodies, for some reasons, they were extremely generous.

Turkish's scalp flakes easily since he is sensitive to unfiltered water, so I got him bagful of anti-dandruff shampoo! Good stuff! I got myself tubes of emollient, cream and whatnots.

Iasonas was there too, I also met a new friend from Cyprus called Flora, together with Elena and Mayank (who came later). I saw many of my colleagues but I didn't hang out with them. I sat through the opening ceremony and first part of the presentation.

The topics were interesting.

My favourite was Dr.Linder from Italy who brought on Global Telemedicine which I thought sounds promising, but can it beat traditional consultation in person? I don't know, man.

I'm going to post some pictures I snapped around, and call it a day.

Tribute to the highly-respected Prof.Romanov

Current day patriarchs of Dermatology
Profs. L-R: Skripkin, Ivanov and 85-year-old Potekaev

I caught a professional LOL

The well-liked Dr.Linder who struggled to speak in Russian

Prof.Linder google-ed this for his slideshow, so did I :P

Well, he really meant Telemedicine like this

My colleagues on technics, Maksim and Dr.Ignateev

In the 2nd session (Blue hall)
R-L : Mayank, Elena, Flora and Iasonas

Elena and I, with bags of freebies ;)

Tomorrow's the 2nd and last day.. I might go, or not LOL

Forwarded Messages

I ran through my Inbox (again) to clear stuff up. I should have included this during my spring-cleaning but hell, what's there left to do when everything's done on schedule! :)

I came across an email dated March 2001 from Mark, an old friend whom I had left teeth marks on, but everything is in the past now. We've made peace with each other and it's quite nice to read this, coming from him. I'd like to share it with you.

>> > Life !
>> >
>> > Three things of life once gone, never comes back -
>> > Time, words & opportunity
>> >
>> > Three things of life must not be lost -
>> > Peace, hope & honesty
>> >
>> > Three things of life are most valuable -
>> > Love, self-confidence & friends
>> >
>> > Three things of life are never sure -
>> > Dreams, success & fortune
>> >
>> > Three things make a man -
>> > Hard work, sincerity & success
>> >
>> > Three things of life that destroy a man -
>> > Wine, pride & anger
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You are a failure,
>> > It means - You have not succeeded
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You accomplished nothing,
>> > It means - You have learned something
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - That you have been a fool,
>> > It means - You had a lot of faith.
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You've been disgraced.,
>> > It means -You were willing to try.
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You don't have it,
>> > It means - You have to do something in a different way.
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You are inferior,
>> > It means - You are not perfect.
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You've wasted your life,
>> > It means - You have a reason to start afresh
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You should give up,
>> > It means - You must try harder
>> >
>> > Failure doesn't mean - You'll never make it,
>> > It means - It will take a little longer.
>> >
>> >
>> > Every morning in Africa,
>> > When the Sun rises,
>> > A deer awakens,
>> > Knowing, it has to outrun the fastest Lion,
>> > Or, be hunted to death..
>> >
>> > Every morning in Africa,
>> > When the Sun rises,
>> > A Lion awakens,
>> > Knowing, it has to outrun the slowest deer,
>> > Or, be starved to death...
>> >
>> > It does not matter whether you are a deer or Lion,
>> > When the Sun rises,
>> > Better be running at your best.
>> >
>> >
>> > In middle of difficulties, lies oppurtunities
>> > - Albert Einstein -
>> >

Stupidity Or What

Have you at times, feel so upset with yourself for not doing or saying the "right" thing only to realise later, it was REALLY the right thing. The problem is, you held back your actions or words and regret so much that you hesitated.

This is one of the very common scenarios of "I should have".

It's a lousy feeling. A regrettable feeling you want to hit yourself with.

Over and over again.

Happened this morning, when the Professor (out of the blue) asked me to diagnose a lesion on the patient's left breast. I mean, the lesion looked like a 2nd nipple but it's really no big deal.

Prof : What it is?

Me : Huh? Errrr.. *say it's pyoderma.. say it!*

Prof : So? What do you think?

Me : Uhhmmm.. *SAY PYODERMA GOD DAMN IT!!*... I don't know...

Prof : Well, it's pyoderma or possibly fungal infection *smiles*

His smile was a shame-on-you smile. I felt it, I so felt it. Don't ask me why I had no balls to speak my mind. I work fine with my colleagues, passing the diagnosis over 100 patients but having to name spontaneously by one look (he's a Professor, I'm a noob).. fail-lahhhhh.

I couldn't help feeling like an idiot for not impressing the Professor.

I'm a pro when it comes to speaking a truckload of thrash and nonsensical stuff but seriously, this has to change. I need to have some confidence in myself. I am learning here, right? Business is business, muttering and looking downright retarded is not cool :(

Freezing Blocks

1st Day of CNY, and we froze ourselves out in the open LOL

Turkish and I went to the Ice Sculpture Festival in MGU's Botanical Gardens (M.Prospekt Mira) around 6pm (after my boyfriend finished work). Hehehee I didn't stop bugging Turkish to go there after seeing some stolen pictures on Amy's blog.

Well, it isn't like the famous Harbin's International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China but definitely no loss dropping by. Fine, fine. I don't really have much nice words to talk about this place because it isn't so impressive and I was freezing the whole time! Our house is so warm, it makes me lose reality of the temperature outdoor. That's why I wasn't fortified for the cold :P

The theme of this event is called Blizzard 2009, and most of its exhibits are symbolic landmarks of major cities in the world. I couldn't take good pictures, again because of the lighting and shaky hands. You know the reason, ai. Most of the sculptures are illuminated with single-coloured LEDs, nothing much to yell about. In fact, some of them have lost its shape because of the inconsistent winter this year. Some days we have positive and other days negative.

I think the Ox isn't the fanciest animal around

Meet my friend, the Emperor Penguin from Antarctica!

The mermaid from Copenhagen in green

Still the same Danish myth creature, in pink

Eiffel Tower of Paris.. too bad I couldn't be in the pic

Christ the Redeemer of Brazil's icy replica

And guess who is here too.. our very own Twin Towers!!

And many more others lined in the park :)

I shouldn't be whining so much.. afterall, we did have a romantic evening. Maybe next time we can make it to Harbin?

Year Of The Ox

In different dialects ;)

Since I shouldn't celebrate in full scale but I'd still like to wish everyone a prosperous and ox-picious 2009! I wish all of you good health, happiness always together with success in everything you do!

I found my Chinese horoscope guidance for 2009..

The Rat may likely begin the year with a lot of momentum from the year of the Rat. Take an inventory for the next twelve months. Then, with some plans in mind, no matter what area of life, work purposefully towards obtaining those objectives. One pitfall to avoid in the year of the Ox is over-committing to engaging in too many activities at the same time. Self-discipline, careful planning, and applied effort are three wise methods that will lead to a successful year in 2009. For the persistent and conscientious Rat, the rewards of the year can prove substantial.

Rat Rating:
56% (5 favorable, 5 neutral and 2 unfavorable months)

Rat Career:
The Rat can make particularly good progress, as there will be positive repercussions from the previous year (namesake year). The winds of change may not be felt immediately, so it is important for the Rat to be assertive and follow any leads towards openings or opportunities that may reveal themselves. Promote any new ideas that are innovative or will enhance progress, as they will be received favorably. Dissatisfaction in the workplace may be a sign for a career change, as the best times to seek this are in September and October.

Rat Relationships:
The closing stages of the Rat year will be a favorable time for the Rat both socially and domestically. Parties and functions may bring new acquaintances. If any problems or uncertainties that should arise in your relationship, do not hesitate to seek the advice of others. You have many acquaintances and close friends that are willing to assist you on your path. Romance is favored later in the year, around November and December. This is a good time to plan a wedding or make a proposal.

Rat Health:
It may be a good idea for the Rat to integrate a regimen of physical activity, as this may have been neglected in the recent past. Even if it is a minor activity, such as walking it will be beneficial. Areas of interest may be cycling or swimming. Failure to do so may reveal certain health issues later in the year that could hinder your activities for a long time.

Rat Wealth:
Financially, the beginning of the year may be a favorable time to invest, but it is a good idea to remain conservative in speculations. If you lose discipline during the mid-months, you may deplete your savings on a whim. Be sure to set aside a certain amount for emergency situations or the holidays. You may surprise yourself at how well you are able to accumulate a large amount.

Find yours here.

Say "MooOOoOOooOOoOoooo!" :)

Steamboat Miniğım

Don't worry about the title, it reads "Steamboat Mini", a nickname Turkish came up with ;)

I prepared steamboat for our Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. Well, it would be a great deal back when I was really a mini because my family and I would return to Grandma's in Penang, so would my uncle and family from the south.

Hence, it's called the reunion dinner where members of the family, near and far away, get together for the celebration. The venue is usually in the home of the most senior member of the family and dinner is sumptuous. Traditionally, we have it steamboat-style.

I tend to carry it on!

Showing off my new apron LOL

Turkish helping me out in the kitchen ;)

Turkish loved Sah Jek's steamboat sessions, he got so excited when I suggested we have it this evening. Aaahhh.. the good old rice cooker pot from Pisa and Boss! It still serves us very well! There were quite a number of choices for ingredients on the table. We had fish, prawns, meatballs (we didn't have fishballs), crabsticks, sausages, vegetables, mushrooms and more fish LOL

Some pictures of the commoners:

Sweet, sweet Siberian prawns

I take pride in marinating meatballs!

The plate of pre-fried "Sea Tongue" fish

The hot pot mix boiled to perfection!

Eating steamboat is an art, it requires patience and a tongue made of tyre (food's pipping hot!). First, guess why is it even called a steamboat? I just found out. Originally, they were referred to as "Steambowl" for the simmering hot pot of broth. Then the Chinese migrants who can't pronounce anything right, spreaded this word till today. People would throw tofu in your face if you call it Steambowl.

Turkish carefully dishing out some goodies :)

Hehehehee we spent 2 hours on the dining table

You can't go wrong with steamboat unless the ingredients aren't fresh. Especially with seafood. Otherwise, it is super yummy and in the very end of dinner, scoop up a bowl of soup and it will be the juiciest and tastiest broth ever! We had a lovely time with this practice, ate slowly whilst drinking Liu Bao Cha (Six Treasures Chinese tea) courtesy of Sah Jek.

Happy ushering the year of the Ox, peeps!

I'll miss being with my family on this day. Always.

Hahahahahaaa and I recalled what happened last year.

We Are Ready

Oooohhh, yes! We finally went to IKEA and got mirrors!

1 for the bathroom and 1 for the bedroom. I can't believe for someone as vain as me, I survived so many months without looking at myself, not even my dressing. We were using a small handheld mirror, that was it. Anyone could have gone mad LOL

My cute polar bear "magic" sticker

The house is clean, everything is in order, Chinese New Year decorations hung, new clothes to don for ushering the Ox year. With Turkish, it's going to be pretty fun :)

Doormat Maniac

A day after our return to Moscow, Turkish and I realised that our doormat was missing. Or rather stolen. I cried out loud that evening because when I wiped my boots on the floor, the screech was horrendous. The floor looked so naked, and dirty from God knows what kind of ordeal it went through.

Serious. I was upset for the loss of my IKEA purchase.

When the incident took place

And today, as I was headed out to the shops, I couldn't swing open my front door. Usually it opens up faster than a flasher would but for some reason.. it was stuck. I thought someone pulled a prank on our unit or something . Plus I was alone, I was scared for a minute.

Then, I slowly poked my head out of the door.. which I REALLY shouldn't have done. What if someone was hiding at the side! My head could have been chopped off! I looked down and my sight caught some flurry fabric with 2 different shades (blackish-greyish) eating the bottom of my door. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Doormats!

Not one but two pieces!

What the fuccckkkkk!!

You know how freaky that is?!

Should I be pleasantly surprised or shocked?

Who breathes oxygen on earth would first steal my doormat then return it with an extra! Is this a joke?? Some kind of fetish nowadays? OMG. This is absurd. And I can't remember if the bigger piece belonged to us before but the smaller one is definitely not. Look at it! It's not even cut straight!

OMG. Could the maniac have stolen someone else's and then placed them on my front door! Hahahahahaa this is getting very out of hand! Turkish and I couldn't really explain why would someone steal a doormat. It's to wipe dirt off our shoes! We concluded that one of our neighbours might have "borrowed" it. Maybe because they couldn't enter their house with dripping soles, therefore they swiped ours.

What is the world becoming?

But it doesn't make sense because our neighbours always had theirs.

Next door neighbour has a fancy doormat!
Why not steal theirs? It's got rail tracks, man!

This one looks decent enough

Okay, okay. Enough pictures. My floor looks extremely unkept, looks as though I'm staying in some rundown flats! No wonder even doormats go missing! LOL But I can assure you, the inside is not at all in poor condition! There isn't any maintenance fella for our building so it's only cleaned once a month by.. someone, I guess :)

Hilarious shit.

Can I file a report to the police about this?

Bamboo Birds

Our Christmas decorations are put away (for next year) already. We bought some Chinese New Year goodies back with us for the celebration. I also painted, cut and pasted a bamboo plant to relocate the pair of birds, which were initially perched on the Christmas tree. I didn't know where else to clip them so I came up with a brilliant idea.

Though not very good but I had spare time, so why not!

Hahahahahaaa they ARE supposed to be bamboos

Look at my little birds.. they're adorable, no?

I'm excited for Chinese New Year. We can celebrate this year.. though it isn't full 3 years after Daddy's passing yet. But Mum says we can do it on a moderate scale, that's why I feel okay about it :)

Pee/Poop Properly

When we were in Penang, if I remember correctly, Turkish came out of the bathroom (of a kopitiam) giggling. He showed me this sign which he took inside the stall. He was very tickled to see the instruction.

Do not squat! Sit like you should LOL

Turkish said it is normal for users who are used to what he calls the "alaturka", meaning the old-fashioned squat toilets. He even told me, there are many cases in Turkey, where newly constructed houses come with modern flush toilets, but the tenants break apart to do their business the old way! Hahahahahaa the contractor will have to call for renovation to ease the home owners' bowels.

It's sensitive to ask about someone's toilet behaviour. From its usage to after, only God knows how many people really wash their hands before they exit the WC. I know some friends who would rather let their bladders burst than go to a public loo. Aaahhh.. all kinds of individual manner when it comes to this practice. I can't really tell which toilet is better to use because honestly, I'm fine with both.

Squat vs Flush. Check out what I caught on Wikipedia:

Arguments against squat toilets

* People experiencing diarrhea can spray fecal matter onto the back of the ankles and/or clothing. (Hahahahaahahahaa what the fuck!)

* Squat toilets are more difficult to use, requiring careful balancing skills. This is particularly important for people with joint troubles, limited mobility or recovering from leg injuries. In particular, it becomes very hard for the elderly to defecate in such a manner.

* Squat toilets are not practical for reading a book or magazine while the toilet is being used.

* The washdown seated toilet (Referred to as a "Flush Toilet" or "Western Toilet" in most media) retains fewer odors, due to its bowl being completely flushed at each use. The waste drops into a pool of water, trapping much of the odor under water.

* Squat toilets often smell of urine, as their traps do not empty as completely when flushed.

* Also, constructively, it is difficult to install a squat toilet, as it needs more space in the ground. Where this might not be a problem on a first floor, it definitely is on consecutive floors as there is less height to work with in between floors.

Still toilet for crying out loud. Not rocket science research just to shit.

Ancient Roman public toilet (used the right way)

I'm modern :P
The person next to me is not aiming right LOL

Pardon me. This is one smelly entry.

Witnesses Of History

We just watched Obama's presidential inauguration live on TV!!

Turkish wouldn't have cared but you know me, I've been expecting this day since I became a supporter of Obama. Plus, the transmission was live.. anything could happen at these events. I was telling Turkish an explosion could happen, someone might trip and fall off the stage, anything at all and nothing could be censored for viewership LOL

Fortunately, nothing of the above-mentioned took place ;)

Live from Washington D.C.!

The sight of the hundred thousands of crowd makes me dizzy

Turkish lying comfortably on the couch with his tea

Hahahahahaa I had to sit as close to the TV as possible

I couldn't control my fingers, and I went trigger-happy snapping pictures of the screen (must've looked funny :P).

Hillary and Bill Clinton

Bye-bye, George Bush Jr.

I like Joe Biden.. good man :)

Turkish insisted that he was trained to look upright LOL

Barack H.Obama sworn in as the 44th President of the United States (POTUS). He is also the nation's first African-American president. Many people thought they would never live to see this in their time but yes, it has happened. Obama has the weight of his country and people on his shoulder now, and he knows very well that the road ahead isn't going to be easy.

But there is always hope. Hope and unity to make changes.

Joe Biden, the Vice-President of United States of America

Barack Obama, reciting his presidential oath of office

"Uh-huhh.. I'll show you who's the president tonight"
- thinks Michelle Obama (just kidding LOL)

There we go :)

It's been a while since we watched Obama speak. Our Internet connection is freaking slow we can't enjoy YouTube or Yahoo!News whenever we like, so tonight hearing the man again was nostalgic. He sounded stern and more determined than ever, unlike in his campaigns (last year) when he was rather witty.

We didn't watch his inaugural address till the end. The jackass Russian translator was grunting and panting from trying to keep up with Obama's words. Serious. Like he couldnt s*hit or something. It was truly a shame. At least I'm happy to know that our Malaysian commentators aren't the worst.

Here's the text of the speech as delivered.


Part 1

Part 2


President Barack Obama. Has quite a nice ring to it, no? :)

Heheheee one more for the road!