Medical/ Dental Community Service Work 2 at Kampung Assom and Kampung Kamas, Padawan, Kuching

during my 1st kampung community service, i had the pleasure to follow my senior (1 year+ dental officer) and just assist him like a nurse instead of doing any extractions. any problems, blame him right?... 2nd time around, noone else could go but myself and 2 more first-timer-dental-officers, which forced me to head the 'mini dental team of 3' this time.

the scary bamboo bridge which i love to take photo of but hate crossing over especially since it just rained!

the 2nd kampung required at least 40mins walk (or mini hike) after the rain stopped, over the scary bridges, down the slippery slopes and muddy tracks that the yellow mud gets stuck to your shoes and weighs you down *sweat sweat* i definitely feel very unfit unlike these elderly kampung folks who have no problem carrying our heavyyyyyyyyyy equipments and medications over their shoulders (like the bottom right pic) how do you carry that over a slippery 2-bamboo-bridge???

setting up the place at the kampung.. the medical team as usual, and this time we have a hair dresser as well! neat!

and the medical/dental/hairdresser/organizer team this time around, and a shot of myself after the hike and my 2 fellow dental colleagues.

just so you know, Sai Baba organises this fortnightly community service.. read more at The Star.

the community service next weekend is a 2D1N trip and the weekend after.. 5D4N.. these organizers gotta make sure they don't go any deeper into the forest or we might end up in kalimantan, indonesia and i don't bring my passport..

Another Food-Filled Week

during the not-as-busy weekdays..

had Ala Carte Buffet at Banquet, my 2nd time here

the concept is the same as 3 points with rm33/head but the portions here are way bigger so beware when ordering, don't kill urself by overstuffing like we did (cause they say they charge RM10 /head for excess food)

mummy's birthday!

had big pao lunch at the corner kopitiam at Padungan

i actually ate here a lot of times already, but only Now i know this famous big pao + siew mai corner shop belongs to my senior's wife!

off to Pullman Hotel at night, my 1st time here

for drinks at the Dejavu bar on the ground floor at night

the pullside bar upstairs, Liquid is a really new happening hangout place!

time to cool off with some good old vanilla tea at Hilton.. i really miss having teas in hotels, now its just the scone missing~

since i have more time during the weekends..

last weekend was spent along the old streets of Padungan

tried out the dim sum at the Hong Kong Pau Cafe at Padungan.. the dim sum wasn't nice, perhaps should give this place another chance with the bakery section next time

eating hong kong causeway bay 2 restaurant at jalan song with the bz house officers

random shots of eating at 101 hawker stalls, playing badminton (or just picking up shuttlecocks) at Stapok and visiting this buaya house officer who's oncall with KFC..

finally some SGH house officers have time off so we went to Magenta Restaurant at Old Court House right in central Kuching

for western food.. which is quite pricey so i think there's definitely other better places to try next time for western food.. which i am going tomorrow night actually..

*burpppps*

My 1st Work Trip - Miri Dental Congress

just a brief account of a dental congress i attended last weekend which organized by MDA eastern zone for all dentists, perhaps mostly aimed at east msian dentists.

my name tag and an international speaker giving a talk about composite

sights around the congress, opening ceremony and more talks

the room at the marriot resort and spa.. indulgence~

sights around the hotel in between breaks, more indulgence..

and buffet tables..

and nonstop food like every 3hours of the day.. even MORE indulgence..

having a sunbathe at the balcony suite with colleagues and a perio specialist

around the dinner table

dinner was too simple though

and a committee shot on stage while i get upclose with more friends for a picture. i don't have much comments as its my 1st congress and i don't know what to expect plus how its suppose to be but you meet lots of dentists from around the state and u listen to some good lectures, and some pretty dry boring ones.. and of course, u get to stuff urself crazy! that makes me wanna go to the next congress/conference~

More Food, Less Blood

i felt very charitable spending whole day with the community service team last Saturday, so i thought its time to re-fatten my body-aching-self with a nice bowl of kolo mee on Sunday morning with 2 senior dental officers.

had kolo mee with chicken chop (or pork, which is the black one) at Ta Wan Kung which is opposite the Dewan Masyarakat KMC Swimming Pool along Jalan Datuk Wee Kheng Chiang. the noodle tastes different from the ordinary kolo mee.

i could have sworn i was scammed with the bowl of kolo mee to donate blood at the Hills Shopping Mall at Four Point Sheraton (my 1st time here!). i used to donate blood regularly (maybe 6-7x in UK) and i have not done it yet since i got back (only did it once before i left to UK) so its good to start again. funnily enough they nearly rejected me cause i was from England, which to them is in Europe which has mad cow disease.. and then they change saying England is in UK so i can donate. queer indeed.

so take note: If you were in Europe, you can't donate blood in Malaysia, EVER, due to Mad Cow Disease (unless they lift the ban) and for us Malaysians going to UK and donate blood, you cant donate within 6months from your visit in Malaysia, due to Malaria. been rejected before so i had to plan my blood donation before my trip home or 6months after i got back.

time to refresh at Grandma's Bak Kut Teh, Rock Road before we parted ways (cause i felt sleepy after the blood donation)

that's what i had on Sunday. How about the rest of the week?

if you crave Penang food, you can try Penang Seafood at Ong Kee Hui Road, mind you, certain dishes are available on certain days only.

char kueh tiaw, assam laksa and duck noodle soup

(sorry, non-halal shot coming up)

shark fin's soup (which big pieces of shark's fin), crispy suckling pig, lobster cheese and seafood noodle at Lok Thian Restaurant, Padungan. yes, posh dinner. i am also trying to remember what the occasion was.

and for a change, fish and chips and more western food at Richmond Cafe, Ellis Road. funny how its the other way round back in UK where for a change, i go to a Malaysian restaurant.

and many many more food at random places at 7th mile corner (which sells damn expensive and big prawns), 101 cafe, Sekama Road , Bormill Estate, Thompson's Corner, Eastmoore Cafe, Pending and Padungan.. sorry i can't remember the exact names and can't blog specifically, but at least you have a rough idea where my regulars are..

and as the new week starts, the circle repeats again, and lunch time is always at Hung Hung Inn, Hung Hung Inn, Hung Hung Inn that i am gonna pack a sandwich next week.. that's what happens when you work at SGH, and i just realized i never took any shots of my different lunch dishes at Hung Hung Inn! will do, soon, i bet i would have tried EVERY dish here since i am gonna be working 6 long months at SGH..

little angel

i was told by a friend that he dreamt of an angel with a golden halo 2 nights ago and the angel turned out to be me.. really made my day :)

Medical/ Dental Community Service Work at Kampung Darul Ehsan, Rayang and Kampung Rudan, Padawan, Kuching

Last Saturday, i joined my 1-year-more-senior dental officer on his community service work organized by Sathya Sai Baba (Sarawak tribune describes it as a 'multi-faith and non-profit organisation dedicated towards the promotion of human values and rendering selfless services to the poor, sick and needy') at two bidayuh villages about 1.5hours outside of Kuching (after the Borneo Highlands).

we started at 8am at the meet up point and our team of 3 vehicles (2 half-lorries and 1 pajero) consisted of 2 organizers, 1 doctor, 1 pharmacists and 2 dentists (actually i was more like a nurse) and 10 medical students (5 Aussies, 2 Edinburgh-ians, 3 IMUs)

5 australian medical students, the pharmacist and the dentist with the beautiful view of the outskirts of kuching

kampung darul ehsan, a bidayuh longhouse, actually the 1st eu naturale longhouse i've ever visited (malunyer, kononnya orang sarawak)

chopping up the vegetables for lunch to be cooked for everyone.. i was doing the cabbage and a bad job at it as i was fired after chopping half a cabbage. we even brought our own gas, stove, big pots and every single utensils to cook the food for everyone.

we set up the mini medical/dental clinic at the longhouse and the villages waiting for their turns to be treated. and they only provide tables, chairs and water supply at least. we brought EVERYThing ELSE ourselves, so imagine how much time we need to set the place up.

unfortunately we were lacking gloves to treat the patients so poor organizer had to drive all the way back to kuching and back again so that we can do dental treatment.. that was like a 2-hours delay!

at work.. since there weren't many patients and my senior needs a dental nurse more than another dentist, i had to prepare the dental equipment, sterilize, discard sharps, position patients etc.. which i NEVER do back in the clinics/hospital in kuching as its all the nurse's job! now i know how it is like to be a nurse, especially when u have to cope with bare necessities.

and now i also know how to open my own quack dental stall by the road side offering cheap and quick dental treatment with signboards like "Cabut Gigi (Extract teeth) RM5 only!" LOL.. we saw less than 10 patients per village (only a population of 300 maybe?) but there were like 20 ppl watching especially kids that we did feel like we were performing a show.. what do u expect, the villages have nothing better to do than watch Free-Extract-Teeth-Show, its not like there's Astro/TV/Internet!

after all that hard work, time to hit the waterfall! it was quite a walk, like 30mins at least! and a tough Climb onto the rocks to get there! (yes, a few of us came back with cuts on our legs and feet, including muahself)

i honestly think that climbing the slippery rocks to the waterfall is way more challenging than extracting teeth.. especially since i am so unfit.

fun in the water!

we distributed freebies and toothbrush as well to the local kids. i think we were working till like 7pm that night extracting teeth (i hope my senior never sees this picture of him cabut gigi outside at night) and my greatest enemy this trip were the mosquitoes! i got home with more than 20 bites that day, arghhhhhh itchyyyyy

the whole team doing the community service, an experience i won't forget! the organizing was already asking if i was free the coming weekend for another trip but i had to fly to miri for a business trip.

wow, felt so busy like a real working woman!

and the people i remember the most? the village kids (girls especially) who were shy at first but got talking later on.. the 12-year-old on the left says she wants to be a teacher but i told her "Why not be a doctor instead and come back to your village and open a clinic here to help your fellow villagers?" (no offense, a teacher is a good job too but the village is lacking a doctor) to which she replied "Actually i wanted to but dunno.." sometimes kids just need an extra push..

and i will never forget the time we walked back from the waterfall when these group of 5 girls stood at the side of the path waiting and as soon as i was nearby, 2 of them grabbed each of my hands and the rest followed as we all walked together back to the village.. the scenario was as if they were escorting me hand in hand like a prisoner left right front and back..

"they all waited to walk back with u.." my senior chirped, and that sweet memory is the one thing i will never forget from this trip... and while i was cursing due to the itchy mosquito bites/cuts/body ache/ hungry stomach/working unrecognized for free/could-have-done-something-else-on-a-Saturday.. this small gesture just makes it all worth it after all..

Birthday Cake Overdose Week

i think one of the best birthday pressie so far (besides the handsome JPA 3-monthly-allowances) is my first Pay Check. its pretty fat thanks to the Raya bonus, so it comes as a pleasant surprise, right before my birthday!

Tuesday: belanja the staff at my little clinic in kota sentosa (kpks) KFC, Pizza Hut, ice cream etc.. for lunch (combined with 2 more nurses who joined in the celebration thanks to their naik-pangkat)

the friendly staff all waiting to dig in

the whole team (who i will miss once i leave this place in 3 days! boohoo)

the 4 dental officers at KPKS, thanks to them for all the teaching and learning experiences gained

its a combined birthday celebration for babies from july-october so 5 of us shared the birthday celebration today. great fun~

Once back home from work..

i had my own birthday cake (for myself MUAHAHA) thanks for the treat :) in the end i could not avoid turning a quarter century like everyone else!

Saturday night: time for supper at Bing! at 101 with the House officers (doctors) and pharmacist..

for Glen's pre-birthday celebration.. yummy chocolate cake, and so happen these house officers of SGH are talking about rectum examination..

Sunday Night: back to birthday celebration with the dental officers at Jambu Restaurant

the place looks nice, though was empty on a Sun night

11 of us got our own private room (after extending the table)

pumpkin soup for halloween? i had the chicken lemongrass skewer with wild rice, was so so. at places like these (with the prices, ouch!) you probably go there for the environment.

the 4 October babies aka dental officers taking turns to blow each candle on the cake!

finally, after 2 months of rotting/growing moss/planting grapes at home being jobless/moneyless etc.. now i am starting to have a little bit of social life back which i missed way back in UK.. although of course, it would be even better if i have my own car.. and house.. >_<" what high ambitions with only the 1st pay check.. meanwhile, back to work!