相反的我

词：易家扬
曲/唱：张芸京

我看著鏡子後面皺著眉的我　很孤單她有話想說
像天空不會永遠都是藍色的　有陰天你才會抬頭
走穿多少的巷弄 笑了 哭了　有三四個人愛我

我想要一個亂了數字的時鐘　我想做一個完全相反的我
我在這個世界拼命些什麼　累死我

我有雙不聽任何命令的耳朵　去享受快樂加上自由的我
我要變成一顆透明的石頭　我不會動 也不會痛

像輪胎用了太久 沒氣了 所以　原諒我想消失幾週
每個人都在選好的軌道奔走　講真的我想要呼救
請看愛情的臉孔 美的 醜的
幾千萬人都被愚弄了

我想要一個亂了數字的時鐘　我想做一個完全相反的我
我在這個世界拼命些什麼　累死我

我有雙不聽任何命令的耳朵　去享受快樂加上自由的我
我要變成一顆透明的石頭　我不會動 也不會痛

這個我 那個我 不一樣的我
等什麼 想什麼 怕什麼

我想要一個亂了數字的時鐘　我想做一個完全相反的我
我在這個世界拼命些什麼　累死我

我有雙不聽任何命令的耳朵　去享受快樂加上自由的我
我要變成一顆透明的石頭　我不會動 也不會痛 相反的我

我想要一個亂了數字的時鐘
我想做一個完全相反的我
相反的我


=======================================================
我不想要一个完全相反的我，因为这么做就不是原来的我了，不是吗？但我还是希望可以改掉一些（我认为）不好的个性特质。。少一点执着，多些许豁达。。

So you wanna be a doctor? Part II

Ever wonder why we say “doctors practising medicine”? Because being a doctor is a LIFE-LONG learning process.. You can NEVER be an expert, maybe just specialist.. Being a doctor requires dedication, commitment and EQ, not to mention the readiness to sacrifice self for the greater good..

Thus I really want to question the eagerness and obsession of those “supposedly” top (SPM and STPM ) students every year who wanna do medicine.. Maybe I am being skeptical, but I just don't think that all of them choose to be in this noble profession because they possess a heart of gold and are willing to sacrifice themselves to help others.. And not that I am being elitist, but I seriously believe that not every Tom, Dick or Harry can be a doctor, just because they are smart (or just book smart)..

It takes both nature and nurture to produce a good doctor.. Yes, GOOD doctors. Not those “panadol-dispensing” doctors (panadol is a common brand of aspirin in Malaysia and Singapore) who give MC upon request or those doctors who seemed to worship Dr House at being obnoxious without his brilliant brains to match. Doctors need good EQ. Period. They need good bedside manners, must work well with the nurses, other doctors and all other medical personnel. Before you can be obnoxious, you need to be good in what you are doing first. Before you can be good at what you are doing, you need to learn and familiarize yourself with the REAL medical world, not from the books but from your peers, your seniors and your superiors.

Here are some cold facts:

• To be a doctor, you need to sacrifice the best 10 to 12 years of your life for a dream that might not be what you want when your secondary schoolmates are earning big bucks (buying cars, houses and settling down)..
  Medical Student (5 to 7 years, depending on where you study) ->Health Officer (2 years if you pass each rotation) ->Medical Officer (3 years)
  
• As a doctor, you are dealing with people’s lives. Anything and everything that you do or don’t do determine the life and death of your patients. You are responsible for them dying or living.
• As a doctor, you could get sued for things that are not your fault. You became the obvious scapegoat when the family couldn’t accept the cruel fact that the patient’s time is up.
• As a doctor, you are expected to perform miracles. People don’t take care of themselves but expect doctors to cure them of anything and everything. They smoke heavily, drink their livers to death, and eat uncontrollably. Then when they get sick, they expect you to cure them overnight!!
• As a doctor, you need to be motivated from within. All you will ever have is just the knowledge that you have helped the patient. No one is going to pat you on the shoulder or give you high-fives when you did something good. If you are one who needs constant EXTERNAL reassurances and encouragement, being a doctor is not for you.
• As a doctor, you don’t stop studying after you graduated with a medical degree.. You need to pass multiple exams before you can get your doctor’s license, and even more exams if you wanna be a specialist in a specific field.
• As junior/trainee doctor, you have NO life. You can forget about hanging out with your friends at the mamak stalls, chilling at Starbucks/Old Town Cafes in weekends or even catching movies. Any free time that you might have will be spent either catching up on your sleep or catching up on your readings.
• As a doctor, you won’t be appreciated, especially if you are working for the government.. you will get complained for the slightest things (“you made my child cried because you used a needle on my child to take blood” DUH!!) or worst, get sued by patients.. you are expected to provide excellent health care services even when you are treated like 4th class citizens in the hospitals, after your bosses, the patients and the nurses (yes, in that order)

Have you been to your local hospital or any government hospitals? Ever wonder why doctors there seemed to be in a perpetual bad mood? I will tell you why in my next entry..

我们不是永远都那么勇敢

曲：林挥斌
词/唱：万芳

总是在快乐的时候害怕不快乐
在19岁的时候担心20岁就老了
害怕你比较爱她
想说话却没有朋友
孤单 用匆忙走过

喜 欢被赞美却只记得被批评
羡慕别人却忘了自己
害怕有天年华老去
想坚强却突然伤心
眼泪 用微笑藏着

我们不是 永远都那么勇敢
不是每一次都可以强壮
当爱情离开的时候难过
亲爱的 我也曾经这样

我们不是永远都那么勇敢
不 是每一次都可以强壮
当寂寞来的时候会心痛
亲爱的 我和你都一样

=================================
人，是不可能永远都勇敢和坚强的。。也许不必在人前掉泪，但眼泪还是需要适时地让它出来走走。。偶尔还是必须脆弱一下，不是吗？

So you wanna be a doctor? Part I

And you are sure that your “obsession” or “insistence” of wanting to be a doctor is not because:

• Everyone around you (especially your parents) have been telling you that you should/must since secondary/primary/nursery school..
• Everyone around you (especially your parents) expects/wants you to..
• Everyone thinks that medicine is the ONLY option for “best students", and (you think) you are the best..
• You think it is cool to be a doctor because of all the television dramas such as ER, Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs, etc..
• You think medicine is all about slaving through that 5, 6 or 7 years in the university and you will have an iron rice bowl since doctors don’t get retrenched (instead they get sued, but that is another topic of discussion..)..
• You think you look good in a white coat and get high from people calling you “Dr”..
• You think you can order the nurses around to do those messy and dirty jobs so that you don’t have to since you are the “Dr”..
• You think you don’t have to have good bedside manners and can be mean to your patients, your peers, your superiors and still not get fired because you are the “Dr”, like in House MD..
• You think being a doctor is just like being in the Red Crescent (or Red Cross) and St. John’s.. Or in that commercial on TV where a bunch of medical students save a poor guy’s life..

If you have any of the above misconception, STOP!!! You couldn’t be more wrong!!

I am not a doctor, but my baby sister is.. Read this and this.. She was not pushed into medicine. She genuinely thought that she will be helping the needy and the sick by being a doctor, yet she is regretting her decision EVERY SINGLE DAY. It just break my heart every time I see how she has to drag herself to work..

It is the working environment that is killing her and her fellow colleagues. The government/ministry doesn’t give a damn about them, with everyone being overworked and stressed out beyond limits. They were told to “suck it up” and “stop being softies since their bosses had it much worse during their time”. "Doctors can die, but patients can't.." Can you imagine working in an environment where it is the norm for doctors to get an IV-drip instead of a MC when they are sick so that they can keep on working? There are many more that I will talk about in later. So I really feel that I need to burst the bubbles and throw icy cold water to all unrealistic grandeur dreams of all doctor-wannabes.

You might think I am being cold and uncaring for discouraging people from helping the society. I do not deny that indeed, we DO need people to be doctors, but I want whoever aspired to go into medicine to do it with their eyes opened wide and know exactly what they are getting themselves into. They need to see and understand the cruel reality that they are expected to sacrifice A LOT to realize their dreams of being a doctor, and ask themselves realistic but tough questions to find out if they have what it takes.

To be continued..

坏了

曲：陈彦珲、梁小燕
词 : 徐世珍

大口的呼吸像离了水的鱼
大步的离去用我最后一丝力气
每阵风 每场雨 都加速爱情的凋零
散发出斑驳的气息

眼看爱 慢慢的腐败
慢慢的解散
慢慢沉入暗黑的深海
这个世界上
什么东西不会坏
哦~~

大口的呼吸像离了水的鱼
大步的离去用我最后一丝力气
每阵风 每场雨 都加速爱情的凋零
散发出斑驳的气息

都怪我
偏偏要去爱
偏偏要等待
偏偏幻想我会是例外
不怪的时候
爱的多不知好歹
坏的就该淘汰
明明我早就明白
哦~~

都怪我
偏偏要去爱
偏偏要等待
偏偏幻想我会是例外
不管那时候
爱的多不知好歹
坏的就该淘汰~~


=================================================================
副歌的部分唱出了我的心声。。 偏偏要去爱 偏偏幻想我会是例外
坏了就该淘汰，这道理大家都知道，可是有多少人可以真正做到？

V, BSG and Glee

Been watching plenty of TV dramas lately... :P

BSG stands for Battlestar Galactica.. I've finished watching all four seasons of it (total of 75 episodes).. including the 10 webisodes and 2 movies.. Never since Babylon 5 and Star Trek: The Next Generation, I have watched any space-related sci-fi series.. so BSG was like a re-introduction back to space sci-fi.. I was somewhat influenced by all the good reviews that BSG has gotten that I decided to give it a chance.. and I was not disappointed, although I must confessed that Season 2 kinda bored me.

Writers for BSG did a very good job in giving all the main characters real human flaws that we all can relate to. Even though the plot could be rather confusing at times, the overall story arch was coherent and believable.. But I do have one major complaint, the "salvation/redemption" of one of the main characters. Personally, I hate his narcissism and his constant babbling about the Cylon God who "loves him and has great plans for him".. He was responsible for the near-extinction of the human race and many more atrocities, yet he survived to live "happily ever after" when other more deserving characters didn't.. :x But again, such things happen rather often in real life too, doesn't it?

V is an "aliens-are-evil-and-gonna-annihilate-human-but-no-one-knows-it-except-us-so-we-must-fight" kinda series. It was so bad that I barely made it pass its 2nd episode. I started on it because one of the main characters, Elizabeth Mitchell, was from LOST, a series that I liked. But the plots are thin and predictable, the characters very cliche and the special effects were nothing to shout about.. So I stopped watching..

I must admit that I only started watching Glee when I found out that it had received 19 Primetime Emmy Award nominations early this month. I didn't watch any of those High School Musical series, O.C. or Gossip Girls cos I think I am way too old to be watching a bunch of high-school kids going through their teenage angst.. Thus I was utterly surprised when I realized that I really enjoyed every single episode of Glee, especially that episode on Lady Gaga (3rd last episode of Season 01).. I love the way they did all the song mash-ups and dance choreography.. It made me chuckled, laughed and cried.. Can't wait for the 2nd season to start in Sept.. :)

Mmmm... Still have The Pacific, Firefly, Stargate Universe, Drop Dead Diva Season 02, True Blood Season 03, a couple of Japanese drama series and anime to watch.. Oh ya, finished reading 2 books too.. Beginning to enjoy the free time that I have without feeling guilty.. :P

我们不要伤心了

词：陈信荣
曲：黄韵玲
演唱：萬芳

脆弱修补不了明天
在歇息的夜里
那些痛啊 那些不舍与欠缺
那曾经经历 也一度坠落的誓言
在我们的心上 系了一个死结
当爱情离开 冬天来临之前
我们不要伤心了

抱着你 抱着你
让我再抱一下你
让那些瞬间的温柔 停在指尖
让我用过去的挫折 剥落你的疲惫
让无心犯的错误 得到救赎

我们还是会小心 翼翼
我们也还有拥抱的能力
仍然会守护彼此
不会提前离席
若你决定把梦一次摇醒
我们将不再感到可惜
我们不要伤心了

脆弱修补不了明天
在歇息的夜里
那些痛啊 那些不舍与欠缺
那曾经经历 也一度坠落的誓言
在 我们的心上 系了一个死结
当爱情离开 冬天来临之前
我们不要伤心了

抱着你 抱着你
让我再抱一下你
让那些瞬间的温柔 停在指尖
让我用过去的挫折 剥落你的疲惫
让无心犯的错误 得到救赎

我们还是会小心翼翼
我们也还有拥抱的能力
仍然会守护彼此
不会提前离席
若你决定把梦一次摇醒
我们将不再感到可惜
我们不要伤心了
我们不要伤心了


==============================================
黄韵玲的曲真的是很扣人心弦，淡淡的却那么地强烈。。
的确，当爱情离开，冬天来临之前我不要再伤心了。。

芳·京

喜欢万芳已经很久了。。 非常喜欢她的歌声。。 她是我唯一会搜集的，目前我有她《ONE芳新歌加精选》、《相爱的运气》、《不换》、《左手》、《就值得了爱》、《割爱》、《一切如新》等专辑。虽然不是全数，但却都是正版的。。

隔了八年，她总算再次发行了新专辑《我们不要伤心了》。。当然我会继续以行动支持她。。:)
专辑收集了10首新歌，很适合在夜深人静时一个人聆听。每一首的歌词都写得很美，其中六首是万芳自己写的词。。我偏爱其中的〈我们不要伤心了〉、〈我们不是永远都那么勇敢〉、〈她往月亮走〉及〈你·我〉。

透过网路的介绍，我认识了另一位我觉得不错的歌手，张芸京。她最近也发行了她第二张专辑，《相反的我》。去年她的首张专辑唱出了我当时的感情状况，而那么凑巧地此刻的这一张完全地描绘了我现在的心情，尤其是〈坏了〉、〈相反的我〉及〈好了〉的歌词。。特别是整张专辑的最后一首歌〈好了〉的最后几句歌词：

这世界太多梦 都会被击落
勇敢才能快乐
有些伤 只为不舍得
我的伤 已经快好了

两个形象及歌路曲风都那么截然不同的歌手，却能同时刻画和反映了我目前的心境。。音乐果真是太奇妙了。。

Oil, gas and sugar...

Gotcha! First round of price hike after the government "forewarned" us about the country going bankrupt if subsidies are not cut took place 12midnight..

I think this will be the first of many such "commando-style" surprise hikes in the future.. these last minute price hikes are to deter people from panic buying and retailers from hoarding.. yet regardless, the effect of such hikes will impact everyone, except ministers, those super-rich and well-connected fellas.. and the price of rice, flour, cooking oil and a few more essential items have yet to be hiked.. so brace yourselves, everyone.. everything will cost more, much much more in the near future, with no end to be be seen..

As long as the few "elite" has a hold onto the nation's natural resources and spend it recklessly.. as long as the majority continue to blindly support the government who is plundering the country left, right and center... as long as people still insists on special treatments because of their race, religion or whatever.. as long as people think that the government must give them everything because they are "entitled to" without having to work for it.. as long as those in power think that they can get away with anything and everything.. as long as the current status quo remains..

..cost of living will continue to climb, outpacing salary increase.. crime rate will rise as people gets desperate and they knew that they could get away with it since the police force couldn't be bothered.. ..government-linked companies will be squeezed dry to support all kinds of multi-billion projects that will only benefit the few.. ..politicians will continue to plunder and steal.. ..capable people will continue to leave for greener pastures, leaving the country to dimwits/thugs/bloodsuckers..

..nothing will change.. unless the people want it to change.. but can we do it?

I like it short..

It is time for another hair cut..

My last hair cut was last Dec.. my hair was cut very very short.. so I could go on without getting a hair cut for almost 6 months.. :) but with the weather and humidity here, I could never "survive" with long hair..

Since I didn't manage to visit my regular stylist while in Singapore a few months ago, I had to find someone to cut my hair.. so I went to my sis's regular stylist here.. although I must say that I do have my apprehension, as I am very particular about my hair..

From the moment I told the stylist that I want my hair short but layered till she actually finish, it took less than 10 minutes!! In just a few snips, it was done.. I could barely believed it.. While she was cutting, I was very very very nervous.. cos she didn't seem to hesitate to lop off long strands of my hair, instead of snipping it bit by bit like what most of my stylists usually do.. I was, in fact, thinking of various back-up plans, in case I didn't like how my hair turned out.... I was even contemplating going "bald"!!

In the end, luckily, my fears turned out to be baseless.. I like my new hair style.. :) It was short, layered and very easy to manage.. and the best thing was, it cost me just MYR $8! which is less than 250yen!!! Having used to haircuts that cost more than 3500 yen (while in Japan) or more than SGD$35 (while in Singapore), this price is ridiculously low...

So it looks like I will be going for hair cuts fairly often now.. maybe every other month, instead of every 4 - 5 months.. :)

Spain, The Champs....

Seemed like Herr Paul was a much better predictor than I am..

Watched the last 2 matches involving Spain, and I must say that they really do deserve to win.. Germany wasn't playing their game when they met with Spain.. by watching just the first 10 minutes, I already knew that the Germans has been outplayed by the Spaniards.. while Holland was being way too aggressive in the final... with 7 yellow cards and 1 red card, from committing 28 fouls against the eventual champs..

Also, happy that Thomas Mueller won the Golden Boot.. and the Best Young Player award.. he will be one of the major German players to look forward to in the next few World Cups, while I think Miroslav Klose might have just played his last..

The next World Cup will be held in Brazil.. It would be an awesome experience to watch the world's best teams battling it out in a country that eats, breathes and lives football.. Would love to be there when it happens.. Mmm.. maybe that shall be one of my new bucket-list items... :)

Semis..

Okay.. 3 out of 4.. not too bad.. actually, my heart wanted Oranje to win, but my head chose Brazilian samba.. another case of heart over head! Anyway, the quarterfinal matches were all very entertaining... just hope that the semis and finals will not be a let-down..

I foretell that it will be an all European finals.. with Netherlands facing off Germany for the title.. and no prices for guessing which team I would be rooting for on 11 July.. :D

Go Deutschland!! :)