My story since a student

I was born in Penang Adventist Hospital and lived in a rubber plantation for 17 years before going overseas to pursue my tertiary education. My dad happened to be the first Asian rubber plantation manager in Malaya which prior to him the position was held by foreigners.
I couldn't remember a day where i actually sat down and study during my primary school years. It was 6 years of goofing around.
The most memorable ones has got to be 1988 Deepavali, where a group of us 12 years old took a bus ride into a oil palm plantation to where my friend lived. As expected there were many cows freely roaming around the area.
We were playing firecrackers, when one smart ass actually came out with the idea of taking the game up a notch. All of us get to draw straws, and the shortest one would have to lit a firecracker buried deep into a cow dung.
You can imagine the fun we had when the poor guy had his turn to light up the fuse while the rest of us were hiding behind trees.
Secondary school, yeah, i received a lot of punishments for making a ruckus in the class. The funniest moment has to be form three when the first biology class was about sexual reproduction. One of our assignment was to draw a vertical cut section of the male and a female sexual reproductive system.
All of us of course drew a cut section of a flaccid penis, except one guy(thanks to us delinquents) who rubbed of what he drew and drew an erected penis!-without him knowing this as he was busy doing his stuff. All of us handed out our assignments, and couldn't wait till the next day to see the teacher's reaction.
The next day, as the bell rang the teacher walked into the class with an expressionless face, and slammed the books on the table. "Ratna!!!.., Mari sini!!" -that's his name. He was utterly shocked and nearly shat in his pant looking at the drawing on his book. "Apa,ni? Gatal,kah awak,ni!!!??"
I nearly collapsed while laughing so hard.
Matriculation in Taylor's College was not a good experience for me. In fact, it was a total culture shock for a person who lived his 17 years in a Kampung environment, suddenly being exposed to the city life. People are different, culture are different, lifestyle is different. God damn! It was my first time seeing a gang fight, a couple cudling and kissing in public, and women smokers! I mean i don't see such things in small town Kulim.
1995 was the beginning of self discovery. Being a first year medical student in India, i remember i did quite badly for my biochemistry. I told myself if i pass the paper, i would be a vegetarian for 2 weeks. But to my surprise, i got a first class for my papers, hence 2 weeks of being a vegetarian prolonged to a month, then 6 months, then a year, 2,4,6, and finally the 8th years while i was already back in Malaysia.
Since the break between semesters was just 2 weeks, it doesn't make sense to purchase a flight ticket home. So, i use the time to travel around India.
We went up north all the way to Agra, where the Great Taj Mahal majestically stood.
My visit to the first among 7 wonders of the world. I went there with another 3 friends of mine.
Can't help it, but its in my nature to goof around!
This picture was actually taken on the last day in India, i had several hours before flying back to Malaysia for good....in style ..First Class from New Delhi to KLIA.
Well of course i took some time off to relax before joining the goverment service.
My housemanship was hellish! Obstetrics and Gynaecology was my first posting was i had a devil as the head of department. Then my second posting was medicine which i truly enjoyed, and finally orthopeadics posting which was rather relaxing.
Upon completion of the first 3 posting, i was promoted to a medical officer(a certified doctor) where i had to serve in various departments for another 3 years. I chose A&E,Neurology, Plastic Surgery,Peadiatrics, and Urology.
By the end of my last day of goverment service, i immediately resigned and flew straight to Australia and spent several months doing my cosmetic medicine training.
When i came back, i found out that to set your own clinic isn't as easy as it used to be. You need to fulfill certain criterias, for example, the consultation room must be of certain dimension, the door must be at least 1.5metres wide, etc..etc...
So, night after night, i had to sit down and start to draw plans for the clinic.

Preliminary drawing
have to work late into the night when everyone else is asleep
then its time to submit the plan to the Ministry of Health...
A month later
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My Consultation Room

my qualifications


my pharmacy
my walkway to the back of the clinic

The Reception and Registration area
Waiting area

A well equipped minor operation theatre

A DREAM CAME TRUE

Life

I held the rose that smells so sweet
hoping it would forever stay that way
to my dismay nothing last forever
it withers slowly day by day

so silly of me to be in wonderland
hoping things would be magical
but when i open my eyes, i realized its just a dream
that fades away with my awakening

the truth about life isn't always pleasant
mother Earth needs both sunshine and rainstorm in balance
amidst the sadness and sufferings, we live on
living life to its fullest before its gone

--Dr Wan Chee Hung--

Sony DT 18-250mm/f3.5-6.3 lens!

Well, there's nothing much happening during this year Chinese New Year. Its always the same, the night prior to CNY we'll have family dinner, then when the first day arrived, it was SO boring! My dad being the eldest in the family received a few visits from my aunts, otherwise, that's it.
The second days was much more interesting. We went home visit.At last, out from the house! Had a really yummy steamboat dinner at my in law's place.
On the third day, i took my family out the whole day, and guess what, i bought another lens for my DSLR. Since the original camera came with a 18-70mm wide angle lens, and i bought an extra telephoto lens (70-300mm) and a prime lens f2.8/100mm(the best lens i've ever used), i had to carry 3 lens with me whenever i go.
I was anticipating my Thailand trip by the end of February. I was so excited over it till i spent so much time surfing the net of places to visit since its going to be a five day stay in Bangkok.
And since i am not the "change-the-lens-for-every- kind-of-shots type of person, i thought it would be a good idea to get a multipurpose lens to bring along to Thailand. Hence the DT 18-250mm/f3.5-6.3. It is a great lens and i did a lot of research before getting them. It enables me to take wide angle shots to mid telephoto lens with magnification of 14X.
My new multipurpose lens.
with a wide range of capability ranging from wide angle lens to mid telephoto images.
I couldn't wait to test the lens, so i brought it a local temple and took a couple of photos. The photos below were taken without flash and has low light source. The photos were taken with Shutter preference mode, without a tripod.
For the past few days, i have taken hundred of shots and made this lens as the main one for my camera, and i am truly satisfied with the purchase.
Oh, yes. For photography enthusiast, i purchased this lens from a shop called Boeing in ground floor of Bukit Bintang Plaza where you are able to purchase camera/lens/accesories with distributors price. This lens was listed as RM2299, but i got it for RM1700.

what to write about in my blog?

Very often i would encounter so called "writer's block" where i would be short of ideas on what to blog about. However, my initial intention to start a blog was to pen down my thoughts and daily accounts so in future i would able to read and reflect the different phases of my life.
Compared to other bloggers who received high hits on readership, i felt my is just the opposite.
Most blogs are about food and restaurant reviews, movies reviews, traveling experiences, events coverage, etc which sounds interesting.
I don't write about any of these, as i would consider myself a less adventurous kind of guy who eats in the same dull place over and over again, hey... i am a predictable guy. Don't really visit the cinema as often as i hoped to since i have a 5 months old baby, don't have the luxury of time to travel around the globe as my life is pretty much consumed by my work, and i don't get invited to events except for medical seminars held in private hospitals.
So, what can i write about?
My wife is against the idea of posting her photos or my daughter's photos online as she thinks its not a good idea. -privacy issue.
The contents of my blog mainly revolves around my personal life experiences, medical issue, cosmetic medicine, poetry, and lately photography.
What's so interesting about that?!!!
All these time throughout my younger days till to date, my life is consider mundane, slave to the grind so they say. It's pretty predictable.
Soon after i completed my matriculation course in Taylor's college, then medical course for 5 years in India which i completed in 2000. Since started work in 2001 in GHKL till today, i can't recall ever traveled overseas except to Australia for my honeymoon and cosmetic medicine course.
I have always thought that owning your own practice and company is always better than working in the government sector. While the pay is far more rewarding, my life is always about the clinic. I'll start work at 9am till 9pm, Monday till Saturday.
Social life is absolutely zero. I have stopped going for CNY reunion since 2001 back in hometown, Kulim, as a result completely lost touch with my secondary school friends, except for occasional SMS informing me so and so is getting married, gave birth, etc...
Seriously, what can i write about, other than some random non interesting post that nobody can relate to?
Any suggestion?

Beauty centre's ugly act

It came to me as a surprise when i read this article which i felt its only right to share it fellow reader who is into cosmetics.
This is an article from the Star newspaper dated 11 December 2008.

Georgetown: A beauty centre with branches in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Sabah is being investigated by the Health Ministry for selling fake Swiss skincare products that originate from China.
The ministry's pharmacy enforcement division yesterday seized products worth at least RM5.5 million from a storeroom in Jalan Kelawei and a packing centre in Lebuhraya Maktab.
The division's deputy director Wan Hamid Wan Ibrahim said they found 105,000 ampoules if Vitamin B and Vitamin C, and ewe-placenta essence during the raids at 11.30am.
"We were acting on complaints from five customers who were unhappy with the results of their treatment bu the beauty centre which have 5 branches.
"We thought that the company was exporting the cosmetic products without a permit but after checking the premises, we discovered that the products such as moisterisers and whitening cream were from China and refilled into the bottles of a famous Swiss brand.
"There were more than 20 huge drums containing various types of face cream that had been smuggled into the country. The vitamin injectin ampoules, which were also from China, cost between RM2 and RM3 each but were sold to customers for RM50,"he said.
Wan Hamid said each tube of cream was sold for RM200 and above but the cost price was only a few ringgit.
He added that the company had been in business for 10 years and believed the centre went into the fake cosmetic product business three years ago.
He said the packing, which was conducted under unhygienic conditions and in front of a toilet, was only done at night by Indonesian workers.
"The beauty centre workers were also prescribing antibiotics and painkillers to customers without being properly trained. We will question the directors and workers to determine the extent of the fraud.
"The directors are likely to be charged under the Poison Act and Sales of Drugs Act which carries a jail term with possible fine upto RM50,000,"he said.

My sincere advice to customers is not to be easily coaxed into believing blindly what has been advertised by these cosmetic centres as they are commercially motivated and orientated.
Again i would like to advice customers to consult a medically trained personnel for proper treatment and consultation to ensure proper result.

more photos with Sony f2.8/100mm Prime lens

Since someone once told me the only way to improve my photography skills is to keep on taking more photos, hence i spent the entire morning taking these photos below with my Sony DSLR equipped with f2.8/100mm fixed lens.
Tell me what do you think of it.
Char Koey Teow i had for breakfast this morning.
I am not sure what this is called but its what my wife ordered

Bougainvillea outside my house
Unadjusted post developed photo with this lens really enhanced the colour. Notice it?
Notice there's a bird at the perched on the branch?
We were so sentimental of the rubber plantation where i grew up, we named our house after it, Sri Meiha.
My neighbour's "dehydrated" flower.
Thanks to Gabriel Lai for sharing some photography tips.

Trial photos with Sony f2.8/100mm lens

It has been a while since i bought my DSLR Sony alpha 200. In addition to the standard lens that came along with camera body, i bought a zoom lens, and an expensive fixed lens f2.8/100mm, which itself cost more than the camera plus the standard lens itself!
I didn't know in what situation to use the fixed lens and utilizing it to its fullest potential until i met fellow blogger cum photographer Gabriel Lai.
You should visit his site and see for yourself some of the amazing photographs that he took. I found out from him that the fixed lens that i bought could actually take close up objects.(Duh!!!!....). All these while i thought 100mm lens are for for moderate telescopic object. Anyway, Gabriel, these are some photos taken... any tips for improvement? You be the judge of it. All i could say is that compared with normal lens, the fixed lens produces so much details in the photos and the colour is simply magnificent!

The f2.8/100mm fixed macro lens with focus limiter.


My wedding ring. In case if you are wondering why is it chained.Well, i don't wear the ring when i work, i simply wear them around my neck since i do a lot of operations and procedures. Wouldn't want to dirty the ring.

Basically, i felt the potential for this lens is limitless, provided the photographs are taken by professionals. I would consider myself an amateur, still picking up the skills along the way. As Gabriel has eloquently advised, take more photos and you'll learn along the way. I agree. I was supposed to attend the photography session organized by Sony for all purchasers of alpha DSLR camera, but the timing just isn't right, considering i work 6 days a week, 12 hours a day..
Prior to meeting Gabriel, i use the lens at work where i take pictures of before and after procedures pictures of patients for documentation purpose. Thanks a lot Gabriel for your advise.

Another tattoo?

I have always been fascinated with tattoo and its cultural significance. I had my first tattoo done last year, and boy, i had to hide it from my parents and wife for 2 days before having the courage to tell them what i had done. However its something that i've wanted for the past 12 years, and i figured if i wanted something with an undying passion for such a long time, my instinct must be right?
My parents and wife freaked out when they saw my tats, which took them days to actually sink in the fact of what i had done.
My first tats was a Sanskrit word,"OM" which has been what i have always wanted. In Hinduism.Om or Aum is of paramount importance in Hinduism. This symbol is a sacred syllable representing Brahman, the impersonal Absolute of Hinduism — omnipotent, omnipresent, and the source of all manifest existence.
After about a week, i realized the tats is a little small for my arm, so i visited the tat parlor and got a touch up... i decided to colour it.
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It has got this radiating colour that extends out covering my right shoulder. I felt gratified and satisfied and have not regretted a single bit in getting this piece of tat.
Just a couple days ago, i asked my wife what would she think if i were to get another tat, portrait of my daughter on my back... Instantly she says NO!.....with a smile of course.
The irony of my situation was that Isabelle(my eldest daughter) was the first person i showed my tats to, and she likes it. ( i remember her soft high pitch voice saying,"i like it, daddy...")
I sincerely felt if one decides to get a tat, it should be of utmost significance personally to the individual. No, even though i was born in the year of the dragon(according to chinese lunar year) I will not get pictures of dragon. So no worries my dearest wife if you are reading this article.
:)

Fan of Jacky Cheung

I must admit, since my uni days, I've been listening to his songs from his earlier albums till the latest. Though i am fully english educated and do not understand a single word he sang, it never failed to moved my senses. It evokes a strong sentimental feeling just by listening to how much he passion in is voice.
He came to Malaysia for concert back in 2002 and the latest being in 2007(his last tour), which i had the opportunity to attend both of them with my wife.
poster of his 2007 world tour
The original collector's version of his latest concert that was held in Hong Kong that i ordered arrived today. It consist of 4 DVD where 2 DVD was recorded in Hong Kong, 1 in Korea, and the last DVD is the karaoke version.
As i was watching his concert tonight, i was deeply moved by his love tunes, which brought back a lot of memories of my wife and I, how she would interpret the meaning of the songs as we are listening to them. It meant so much to me as simple gesture of my wife's action expressed her love for me. Thanks a lot, my dearest Pei Ling.
I remember the first concert that we attended. We were still dating then. We indeed had a fantastic night. The concert was worthwhile. The whole concert lated about 3 1/2 hours. It was the 2002 Music Oddysse. It was held in Bukit Jalil Stadium.
The second tour in 2007 in Malaysia was part of his 2007 World Tour of Jacky Cheung. It was equally or maybe better. His songs never failed to bring out the love out of me.As i listened to his songs , listening to him sereneding with utmost love and passion.
For Jacky Chueng Fans, this is something worth getting.
chee hung