Licensing for parenting

Over my years studying medicine, I have had to endure the paediatric clerkship three times (eight weeks each) and now have to go through the remedial (six weeks), giving me thirty weeks of paediatric experience under my belt. That's almost half a year; I don't even think family medicine trainees get that long. Over this time I have come to make several observations. Firstly that all the professors and teachers in our university's paediatrics department are clinically insane in some way or form. They are either psychopaths, have multiple personalities or sado-machoistic. I'll probably elaborate on this observation some other time, since it is not my main point. The observation I want to bring to light is parenting is very difficult, almost down right impossible. Yet this is not an excuse to continue bad parenting.

Why is it when people, rational in all other areas in their lives, become suddenly irrational when dealing with their kids? I know they are the best observers for their kids when it comes to their medical history but when making decisions for their kids they don't act with logic. One example I frequently encounter is the decision to feed your baby with breast milk or formula milk. Every medical student and doctor knows breast milk is vastly superior than formula milk. We tell this to all mothers once they given birth and continue to emphasize it later on. Yet mothers seemed to be hypnotized by television adverts, coming under the trance of magical words such as 'DHA' and 'taurine', to feed their child formula milk, thinking they will have vastly better brains. It is the same with anything we subject children to: going to piano lessons, having extra-tutorial classes or sending them off to boarding school. Parents think they know what is best for their kids but do they really go and search for studies whether or not piano lessons can vastly improve your children's skills and happiness? Do they really ask their kids if they prefer having tennis lessons, when in fact they rather prefer golf lessons? Most parents just listen to friends or other family members about their experience but what necessarily applies to one kid doesn't apply to another.

What I just wrote in the last paragraphy really applies to all parents. Of course there are two spectrums of parenting I have seen. There are mothers and fathers who don't give a rat's ass about their kids and leave them to fend for themselves. These are usually lower socioeconomic class people who have an unplanned pregnancy and decide to keep the baby, not really knowing what lies ahead. These are the people who are just ignorant on what parenting entails, think it is easy. Most children suffer from neglect, like one girl who was left to fend for herself while her mother went to Macao to gamble. Everybody in Hong Kong hears these stories every so often and it is disappointing to hear that it continues.

Yet on the other scale are the parents who think money solves everything (just like my father). They ensure the care of their child in the Filipino domestic helper, who doesn't give a monkey's behind whether or not the kid lives or dies. They thrust the child into every extracurricular activity imaginable, get the child to attend extra tutorial to ensure the child gets good grades, goes to a good university and gets a good job regardless whether the child enjoys it and spoils the kid by buying him video games and gifts whenever he/she wants it. These kids grow up to be obese because their parents don't want him/her hurt in any physical activities. These kids also become ignorant and stupid because they numb their brains by watching too much TV and playing too many video games.

With so many kids suffering from inadequate parenting, I have often contemplated whether or not governments should have licensing for parenting. People who want to be mothers or fathers should show they are competent enough to raise kids. I know this idea will never get off the ground, as it infringes on the right to have a family, yet I often feel this right is constantly abused and taken for granted by many adults over the world. With many people paying absorbent amounts of money for IVF treatment to have kids, there are people in the world who dabble in sex as a bit of fun without thinking of the consequences and take for granted the kid they produce.

What I have just written is the reason why I don't want to become a parent. I just will become totally illogical and probably act like my father - far too opinionated and ignorant to care for the kid.

Window shopping

To avoid going back to my flat to face my mum nagging about not studying when I should be studying (i.e. every waking moment), I went out for lunch after my psychiatrist follow-up, with some window shopping afterwards.

If you know me, I have to be considerably bored to contemplate window shopping as a way to pass the time. I despise window shopping, along with the Nazis, Dora Tai and bigotry. I just find the whole conept illogical and useless. Why waste hours looking at items you will not buy? Why do women adore window shopping, as men love playing video games? Don't ask me, I'm still bemused by the situation. Men will only shop when they have to. They will wear down their clothes and eat up all their food in their kitchens before venturing to restock their wardrobes and cupboards. Women on the other hand are an entirely different species. They will buy anything just because "it looks good" and perhaps only wear said clothing time just once.

I don't window shop for clothes like most ladies do. Most of my focus is directed towards books, DVDs, music and food. So most of my window shopping today was spent in Page One (a bookshop), HMV and Three-Sixty (an upclass supermarket). The only item I bought over two hours was some organic grape jam (jelly to the Americans/Canadians out there).

There were many more items I could have bought over the afternoon. At Page One in Central, where they are closing down and are having a massive sale, I could have bought Victor Hugo's "Les Miserable" for about HK$25.00 or a sushi recipe book for HK$30.00. At HMV there were many DVDs and CDs I contemplate buying along with the latest edition of "Nuts" magazine. In the supermarket, there were other food items I could have bought.

Yet at the back of my mind, there is that part of my brain that always screams out "Why?" Why do I need to buy this particular item? Will I have time to use it? I still have two novels I still haven't read gathering dust at home - "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Moby Dick". Adding another will just create another back log. I have a lot of recipe books at home already and most recipes I tend to look up on the internet nowadays. The same goes with DVDs and music. I still have too many DVDs I still haven't watched, some I bought two years ago. Even when I buy music, I don't tend to listen to them much. I tend to listen podcasts more nowadays.

You may think this shouldn't apply to the supermarket but it does. I tend not to buy groceries - my parents usually do that task. Most of the items I buy at the supermarket comes underneath the specialty range - caraway seeds, golden syrup, couscous, etc. I have to consider whether I will be using these ingredients over the next few weeks.

The most ultimate factor which causes me to put a particular item down back on its shelf and walk away is cost/worth. For some strange reason, DVDs, books and specialty food items are much more expensive in Hong Kong. I have to remember that I am still a student and none of the dollars are spending are mine, they are my parents. I still feel guilty when I pay for anything I buy for myself. It helps to curtail your spending, logic and guilt, and is not hard to see why women do so much spending when they tend to lack these two factors.

When I'm free of my parents and finally have a job, maybe I will go stark crazy and spend my money on something. Most likely comedy DVDs...

Typhoons yet again

Currently an early typhoon is battering Hong Kong, subjecting the population to wet and windy weather for htis weekend. My dogs are not very happy, since their weekly outdoor walk has been cancelled and all they can do is watch the rain pelting down, dreaming of sunnier times. The weather hasn't changed my plans thought, since I'm under orders by Mother Superior to studying 24/7, without rest, food & sleep.

However the local media are treating the typhoon like a rare phenomenon. Even though this is the first typhoon of this year and it is early by about two weeks, Hong Kong does encounter roughly six to eight typhoons per year from May to September. It is nothing new but the opening five to ten minutes of the news is given to the typhoon. Just tell me if any services are affected or when the typhoon really starts to hit Hong Kong, then put it on the TV. Other than that just report that there is a typhoon close to Hong Kong. Stop putting pictures of a reporter outside the harbour just showing the water being a bit choppy, citizens walking through the streets with their umbrellas being blown inside out or surfers using this chance to catch some waves.

It is remarkable how different populations treat rain. I used to live in UK, where it rains nearly every single day. Whenever there is a little drizzle, most people don't even bother putting up their umbrellas. They acknowledge that most rain is small and fleeting and won't harm you. Compare that with Hong Kong, where it rain most of the time but not as often as UK. I granted that the rain here usually pelts it down rather than trickles but still people encounter rain all the time. Yet when the slightest of trickle starts, people immediately start to put the umbrellas up expecting a monsoon, which rarely ever comes.

People of Hong Kong - a little rain doesn't harm anybody. It will not bring your colds and flus. It will not cause your skin to burn or melt away. It will not ruin your clothes to the point you will have to throw them away. It will not wash away your make up (because most ladies in Hong Kong don't wear make up). Stop being afraid of a little rain!

Cathay, the Central Nation - part 2

Even though I am Chinese, I am not in great 'amour' with China or to be more accurate I'm not in love with the current Chinese government or the current Chinese people. With so much bad press surrounding the current regime it is hard not to see why. I acknowledge the Chinese have a great culture and there are a great many things to be proud of as a Chinese person. My ancestors have invented many things, from the compass to paper money, which has led to the advancement of human civilization. Chinese food is known all over the world as one of the most delicious and can be found in all four corners of the world. There is a rich depth and vibrance to its art and music; sometimes greatly underappreciated by its own people. Yet modern China has many things wrong as there are right, maybe even more so.

I had previously wrote about the situation in Tibet in my last blog entry. Even though the Chinese invaded the region back in 1950, they have done many things to advance the region - building new infrastructure, educating the people, etc. Yet at the end of the day, like most people, the Tibetans yearn for more freedom and rights. A caged bird will always want to fly away, even if it has lived its whole life behind bars. This is what the Chinese government do not understand - that people want to govern themselves, even if it is under Chinese rule. This is ironic considering China's stance on Taiwan, that Chinese people should govern themselves.

Tibet is just one of the problem's China has with its image on the world stage. Whenever one discusses China, you can't help put human rights on top of the agenda. I think none of the government officials in China have read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, or even know what humans rights are. Just a few of the human rights absent or oppressed in China include the freedom of religion, the freedom of speech and the freedom of a fair trial. I could go on but I think I will bore most people and offend others, with many people I know being Chinese and patriotic about the country (including my father). My dad has always stated things are no better in UK and USA. He's absolutely right in some ways. There are people being detained without cause in Guantanamo Bay. The class system is still very prevalent in UK and discriminates against a lot of people especially the minority races. I would find it hard to get a job back in the UK. Yet there are people willing to change the system and talk about the problem in UK and USA, unlike in China. If I said anything about my entry in UK and USA, people would have a right to criticise, agree or disagree. If I wrote this blog entry as a citizen of the People's Republic of China, I most likely would be arrested for 'endangering the security of the nation' or some other trumped up charge.

I wouldn't be surprised if all governments of the world want to suppress the freedom of speech. I think they want to get rid of criticism they get subjected to. Criticism is inevitable with the freedom of speech but also comes debate and dialogue. If you don't get criticism, debate or dialogue, you will not get diversity or improvement. If the freedom of speech gets abolished we would have just one view and nothing would progress.

I think it would take me too long to write about China and its problem in one blog entry, so I will break it up into smaller entries. Expect similar rants whilst I talk about my life.

Cathay, the Central Nation - part 1

I'm currently in my first week of my remedial in paediatrics. So far it hasn't been too strenuous. Most of the time I follow the morning ward rounds and we have a total of thirteen bedside teachings & clinics to attend during the next six weeks. Since this week the Year 4's are having their end of clerkship examination, they have closed off the wards to other students including myself. For today and tomorrow, I'm back at my flat studying and being very bored.

********

In recent times, China (or I should state 'the People's Republic of China' to avoid any political confusion or offense) has been in the limelight. The troubles in Tibet and the protests occurring during the Olympic torch relay have brought the nation's role in the world to the forefront.

I have had many heated discussions (a nicer way of saying 'arguments') with my father, who backs China all the way. I would like to say first hand it was wrong for the Buddhist monks in Tibet to riot and kill people whatever the motives or agenda were. The taking of life is never a good way to further your agenda. Yet I question the validity of this information since it originates from the Chinese news agency. Any news reported by 'the state news agency' is always liable to be under scrutiny for propaganda and bias. The news is always suppose to be impartial and unbiased, whatever the Chinese government thinks about the view of Western media towards China.

Yet it is wrong for China also to react in such a violent manner towards the people who want autonomy and freedom for themselves. It is also wrong for China to be in Tibet in the first place, having marched in with their army back in 1950. This piece of information has been neglected in the history books taught in local schools, so my parents are rather ignorant on this matter. All the Dalai Lama wants is autonomy, not independence. My dad rightly said that Tibet couldn't sustain itself economically if broke off from China. What my dad said is true but the whole point of independence is not of economic factors but of self-determination, the right to be governed by one's own people. This is the basis of the two world wars we had in the last century. The Kosovans didn't break off from Serbia for monetary reasons but for the right to rule itself.

The trouble in Tibet led to the protests at the Olympic torch relay in London, Paris and San Francisco. I have to admit the protesters were wrong in disrupting the torch relay. The whole point of the Olympic movement is supposed to be non-political, to further the quality of the human race. The protests reflect badly on 'Free Tibet' movement, with other people maybe seeing the cause as violent in nature. The disruptions also cause havoc for those who want to see the torch relay.

I can see why the dissidents use this method to publicize their cause. Peaceful protests only work if the opposite side (in this case the Chinese government) also play by the rules, which they don't. The Chinese government don't want to engage in dialogue with the Dalai Lama and are rather stubborn on Tibet (as well as Taiwan and other matters). Nelson Mandela knew this when engaging the South African government in the early days of apartheid. Greenpeace knows this when encountering the Japanese whaling fleet in the Antarctic waters.

There is a question I want to raise about the Olympics - hasn't there always been some political issues surrounding the Olympic movement. We have the most prominent examples in 1980 and 1984, when the Western countries boycotted the Moscow games due to the invasion of Afghanistan whilst the Soviet bloc retaliated at the Los Angeles games. Yet people tend to forget that even the Olympic torch relay itself was instituted due to political reasons. Even though the Olympic flame was reintroduced at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympic games, the torch relay was introduced by the Third Reich for the 1936 Berlin Olympic games to promote the Aryan race. In fact the whole point of the Olympics is political. The whole Olympic games is just nation bashing, a substitute for war in the modern age where we want to exert up superiority over other nations.

It would be wrong for nations to boycott the Olympic games because of the Tibetan incident. There are other methods to make China wake up...

"Failing my Finals... again" the final part of the trilogy

I always wondered when anybody becomes a bastard (or the female equivalent - a bitch), does that person know he/she has become such an obnoxious prick/cunt and do they care? I often think about that when professors scold students in our faculty.

This sort of happened when I met a professor (Dr. Susan Chiu for those who are wondering) from the paediatrics department to discuss my examination results. After being an hour late as she was doing her ward round, she finally saw me and discussed how I performed. Let's say she could have been a bit more empathetic and tactful. She seemed angry that I had to do a remedial again. She seems to think I WANT to fail and do this again. When I gave my reason why I didn't so well, she didn't seem please with the 'excuse'.

I often feel this professor has a Jekyll and Hyde split personality. She's wonderful with the patients, a complete Dr. Jekyll with children. When it comes to parents, students and junior doctors, she become Mr. Hyde - an absolutely tornado of anger and spite. I often don't trust people who are nice to one group but absolutely discourteous to another. You either good or horrible to all people.

So now I know what I have to do. A six week remedial followed by a written paper, OSCE and CCT.

More of "Failing my Finals... again"

To follow up from my last post, I have more information about failing my finals...

A part of me knew I didn't do well in certain parts of my Finals but was hoping I just could marginally edge myself over the line. Apparently this wasn't the case. I'm not that saddened by not passing my exams but of the consequences. It means I cannot go back to England for the summer and meet up with my friends. I've already promised myself the next available long break I have (at least one week) I'm going back to England no matter what. I don't care if England would be bloody cold at that time, I'm still going back to vegetate on my brother's sofa.

In light of failing my exams, I had to go to see the board this morning. Actually it is much better to state that I had to be at the faculty building at 10:15 just in case the board wanted to see my about my case. Beforehand they would be discussing my situation and then they would decide if they needed to see me or not. So I waited outside the meeting room for about half hour before they came to the conclusion they DIDN'T need to see me. I just had to return home and await the results. Thanks a lot!

This is why I love bureaucracy as much as I love xenophobia, homophobia, racism, bigotry, sexism, conservatives and Nazis. Bureaucracy is wonderfully cost-effective and magnificently streamlined but heartless, soulless, without feeling and psychopathic in nature. I really wish I never enter that system where you meddle with people's lives just because 'it is your job'. People just treat it as 'a case' but to the people concerned, it is their lives on the line. It is not just academics but it occurs in government, lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and insurance agents. All of those professions I dislike due to their lack of soul in their job, something I will elaborate on in another post but not today.

Another thing the faculty was poor upon was details. I didn't know how much subjects I failed, what were the arrangements and when the exams are going to be. I really don't know why they don't reveal these things. I'm sure they have their reasons, however weird and perverse they are. Unfortunately they have sufficient time (every since they started these exams) to make these arrangements and send them to the necessary people. Unfortunately they don't, which is rather disappointing.

My 'appointment' with the board clashed with my psychiatrist follow-up, so I had to race to another place to see my doctor. I know my psychiatrist doesn't have a lot of time for me, being in a government-run clinic. So I know what exactly to say to him and he knows what exactly to say to me. I just spent ten minutes summarising what had happened and he gave me the advice I needed.

I eventually found out what subject(s) I failed - paediatrics. After all that fuss, I only failed ONE subject. I love the way the faculty has toiled with my life like a dog does with a dead bird. To believe that these people are doctors is really a farce in itself. So now I have to do more waiting while I found out when my exams are and what help am I receiving...

Failing my Finals... again

I'm not going to write a dramatic lead-in for this blog entry. Suffice to say, I got a phone call on Monday evening from one of the faculty's administrative officers saying 'my performance in Finals MBBS was unsatisfactory' and I have to see the board on Wednesday. I knew from the moment I saw the phone number what had happened and I got the inevitable chest discomfort and burning sensation in my arms.

"So how am I feeling?" as my mother asks every five minutes. Naturally I'm saddened by the news but not overtly so. Perhaps I've grown accustomed to bad news over the years leading to gradual numbness whenever something like this occurs. To be honest I think my mother is more worried about this than I am. I know worrying won't help the situation. Fretting would just serve no purpose as you can do nothing about it.

I tend to have the feeling of paranoia most often. I often think the faculty just want to get rid of me and won't let me graduate with a medical degree for some reason. I know it sounds stupid but when people become desperate or let their emotions govern their thoughts (i.e. parents), they tend to think of ludicrous ideas.

I do have the feeling of being punished by God, that I have done something in life to deserve this and I see bad people (or people I don't agree with) get on by. I just know God is fair and that he has no say or right over events on Earth. This is free will at work and nothing else. God doesn't just pick some people to do well and others to have a bad life. As Albert Einstein once said, "God does not play dice." Other people like one of my friends, Mercedes, thinks it is God's way of testing me. I really wish God had a different way of testing me, instead of wasting four years of my life.

At these times my feeling of inferiority becomes more prominent. All my friends are working and I don't think anybody in the world has taken nine years to get their first degree. Whenever I meet up with anybody I know I feel like I do not deserve to be in their presence. There is also the awkward situation of explaining what has happened to me. Not a lot of people handle it very well and some people are not very tactful about it - Andrew Lai springs to mind when I met him at a wedding last year.

It is the same with this situation. Some people have handled it well, like Evelyn and Kandice. There are people who might have been a bit better at handling the situation, like Chrissy who was more worried about her passing after finding out that I had received a phone call. Then there are people like Connie, who are ditsy and airheaded most of the time and ignored the 'un' part when reading my Facebook status - Kenneth Leung is very very UNhappy after finding out his exam results. At times I wish I was like Connie - ignorant, airheaded, stupid - enough to ignore the feelings I have. I wish I was more ruthless and more of a psychopath, not caring what others thought of me and what I thought of others.

In essence I wish I was more normal...

Brazilian or natural?

I've got a lot of time on my hands and I don't know what to do with it. I want to try out new recipes but my parents are somewhat unwilling to try out different cuisines. Most of the time I have to resort to making desserts for myself, like the pear crumble tonight. Must remember to use ripe pears next time.

Most of the time I'm playing video games on my laptop ("Super Metroid" on a SNES emulator program), browsing on the internet, playing Scrabble online or watching the American version of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" I don't have much options to engage in other activities. It is raining in Hong Kong at the moment so going out is not much of an option and anyway I abhor going out window shopping. There's not many movies I want to see at the cinema and I still have a stack of DVDs I still haven't seen. I want to go practise my golf swing but I don't have a car and it is a bit troublesome getting to the driving range on public transport. Even my dogs are tired of the dreary weather and dream of sunnier days when they can go out. Now I have more time to write about topics which have been in the back of my mind.

There has been one topic racking my brain recently. This subject has been contemplated by the greatest minds for decades. It has been argued in every type of media since the dawn of time. The question is this:

Why don't Asian women shave their bush whilst Western ladies do?

It is not the thought provoking question you have been anticipating. Neither is the topic high on the priority list with global warming, human rights or free and fair elections. But it has been on my mind whenever I look at erotic pictures and I feel it should be discussed and written about. I'll try to dissect the matter in a mature and adult manner. This topic is not to everybody's liking. If you are of a nervous predisposition (i.e. you're a bigoted, homophobic, Caucasian pig farmer from Arkansas who follows the Bible down to the very last word), then you might want to change to another channel. Also I won't be showing examples of the topic in this blog. I only have time to feed my porn addiction, not yours.

As I see it there are primarily two reasons why a women, whether Asian or Caucasian, would trim their pussy:

1. To wear a bikini.

For some reason fashion has dictated straggly hairs coming out of a thong is a faux pas. I don't know who made those rules but women seem intent to adhering to them. Western women are more likely to wear a bikini for mainly two reasons. Firstly they are more adventurous in their fashion. They are more willing to show skin. I've seen nuns show more skin than Asian women. Chinese girls seem intent on covering themselves in layers, even when the weather is hotter than Mercury's surface. Don't ask me why they do, they just do. Secondly Caucasian women want to tan. This reason actually has profound anthropological issues. Women from different cultures want to change their appearance. White women want to be dark and dark women want to be white. Neither can accept who they are. It seems men are less inclined to think about their appearance.

2. For oral sex.

I actually don't know if this is true or not, since I have no basis or experience in this matter. Western society is more receptive of different forms of sex, whether it is fellatio or rimming. Asian sex is what I call 'vanilla sex' - nice but plain and not very adventurous. Western women (and men) know if the women has to enjoy sex will require some foreplay and oral stimulation on the part of the guy. However the male of the species does not want to be a cow and 'munching grass' if you catch my drift. Asian people just seem oblivious to this concept and so the bush remains natural.

Of course there are exceptions. I do know Western women don't always keep the pubic area bald as it is a tiresome process having to keep the vicinity hairless. I'm sure I'm going to get criticism for having such as chauvinistic view about this, so if there are any ladies who think I'm an idiot please enlighten me, preferably with pictures...

A day of cooking

Today was a good day, which are hard to come by for me. The only blemishes were the weather, since it has been drizzling almost to the state I think I'm back in England, plus making a phone call to the faculty office to find out that I cannot change my elective and I am stuck with paediatrics for four weeks. I just one of these people who don't like kids. 10% of the time they are OK but the remaining 90% they're just spoilt rotten. I blame the parents mostly, who don't think before having children that it takes time, effort and patience. Instead they just bung the care of the little brat to the Filipino domestic helper who doesn't give a shit in the first place. But I have to look at it in a positive way, thinking that this may be the last time I will be in contact with paediatrics and should try to bone up my skills with children... and when I mean 'bone up' I'm not referring to it in a sexual nature.

So what did I do today that was so refreshing? I cooked most of the meals today and they were reasonably good.

As an amateur cook I know I can improve on many things in my skills, unlike my dad who thinks he is a cooking god and everything he makes on the stove is perfect, even better than gourmet chefs from hotels. My dad is a reasonable cook who doesn't muck things up too much but cannot handle criticism and doesn't self criticise himself enough to seek perfection. Also my dad doesn't experiment with different ingredients or cuisines. At least I'm willing to go all the way to try food from a different land.

Firstly we had the matter of lunch - tagliatelle alla carbonara. My mum did homemade pasta - not the dry stuff out of a packet but freshly made tagliatelle from eggs and semolina flour. I resorted to make the bacon and egg sauce, which can be difficult. If you don't mix the eggs and cheese well, you can end up with scrambled eggs. Thankfully the lunch was very good but I didn't take any photos of the meal. I'm not one of those people who thinks every meal is a sensation and has to take a photo of it. I've seen people take pictures of sushi, despite the fact they probably eat sushi at least once per fortnight and it is common everywhere in the world. When you are eating rhino burgers or fried scorpions, then you can photograph it.

Dinner was more difficult - chicken tagine with preserved lemons and couscous. This was a Moroccan dish and it was my first time making such a dish from that region. Last year I made preserved lemons and wanted to use them, so this recipe was a natural choice. All I can say about the end result was that it taste very good but I needed to put in less water and more dried fruit - the salty taste was not overwhelming but noticeable.

This is the thing about cooking, it is an art and science like everything in life. You can follow the recipe up to a degree but perfecting the dish requires experience. I have more to say about cooking but I'll leave it to another time.

The other part of the day was spent watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" (American version). My friend lent me the DVD and I spent most of the afternoon rolling on the sofa, laughing my arse off. I think the sketch show has fallen out of favour in USA, which is disappointing, but in UK it is all the rage. Programs like "Little Britain" and "The Catherine Tate Show" are all the rage in Britain but the domination of sitcoms in USA has left shows like "Saturday Night Live" left behind, which is disappointing. I just like these kind of shows more instead of the situation comedies with surreal scenes which never happen in real life plus edited applause and laughter.

Well to top off the day I'm going to have some dessert. I can't be bothered with making another dish, so I'll think I settle for vanilla ice cream with sprinkles.

Stepping down memory lane

"You can never home again." Whoever devised that phrase was not speaking literally but metaphorically. Whenever you leave your childhood home and go back years later, the childhood home you fondly remember has changed and so have you. The same can be applied to any place you remember fondly and it applies to me regarding my time at Brighton College.

I had an opportunity to stroll down memory lane when the current headmaster Richard Cairns and his assistant Patrick Meehan held a drinks reception for Old Brightonians. Also coming along were parents of current pupils. There were a few OBs there but there could have been more if they didn't schedule the reception on the opening day of the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. It was nice talking to the current headmaster and Patrick about what is going on in Brighton College, finding out that my former housemaster Kenneth Grocott is going back to becoming a housemaster of the boarding house again.

There was a showing of a promotional video about the current state of the school, which is a good idea for OBs who haven't been back for a while. Essentially it was like a piece of propaganda, an advertisement showing how brilliant the school is but you have to accept it as it is - one has to sell the school on the merits in any possible way. I would still recommend Brighton College to any prospective parents out there.

During the video they showed a class learning Mandarin. It was amusing watching English students trying to pronounce Chinese characters from a Hong Kong perspective. I also found it amusing when they showed the Leavers' Day with "Jerusalem" being sung in the background, with one of the parents at the reception asking if that was the school's song. Obviously anybody who has been to Brighton College knows that is the English national hymn which is song at every Leavers' Day but to anybody in Hong Kong is just sounds like a majestic song.

I really hope they do hold more of these gatherings and hope more people will come. I know they are a few more OBs in Hong Kong. Not everybody has fond memories of their school days but there must be some good memories to share with others who have gone through the same experience.

Easter holidays

Currently in Hong Kong it is a wet, slightly mild Easter weekend. As I often said before in my life, "Typical English weather!" At least yesterday (Good Friday) was warm and my parents took the dogs to the park for their usual weekend outdoor frolic.

I often wondered why most countries allow Christian holidays to become public holidays for the rest of the country. In certain countries such as USA there is supposed to be a separation between government and religion. Therefore the state shouldn't allow certain religious festivals to become national holidays whilst neglecting others. Just because the majority of the country so happens to worship God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost does not mean there shouldn't be a holiday for Yom Kippur or Ramadan (although Ramadan does last a whole month). In fact most people who are Christian are not very dedicated to their faith (like myself). Most Christians don't go to church on Sunday, go to bible groups or know all the teachings from the Bible. Most people just fill in 'Christian' in the census for the sake of history or habit. In fact the 5th most common religion in England is a bit of a surprise - Jedi. Why isn't there a holiday for George Lucas's birthday or the commemoration of the opening day for "Star Wars"?

I just think countries need these days just so people can have enough public holidays away from work. Evidence for this can be seen in Hong Kong. When the former British colony was handed back to China, the region had to give up certain holidays such as the Queen's birthday and the liberation of Hong Kong during the World War II. I don't know why we had to give up the latter holiday - wouldn't people want to celebrate being freed from oppression? To replace these holidays, new ones were put in place such as Labour Day, the Buddha's birthday and the National Day for the People's Republic of China. I don't seem to recall there are many Buddhists in Hong Kong. I know Chinese Folk Religion and Christianity are the major religions for our region, with a great deal of public holidays to serve both faiths.

I'm not complaining about having public holidays, just complaining the purpose of having them. Yet in my (hopefully) future line of work, it wouldn't matter which days are public holidays. I actually wouldn't mind working on a public holiday. Far fewer patients are likely to be admitted, since who would want to be in hospital during a holiday. When I would have my holidays, there are far fewer people around to jostle with.

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So what have I been doing this Easter weekend? Apart from preparing for my last exams, I've gone back home to what I like doing - cooking and baking. I'm not a great cook but I'm not a bad cook either. I'm just willing to try recipes. I like making desserts and Western dishes, which is a pity for my family since I'm the only person to have a sweet tooth and my parents usually abhor anything Western.

So what did I make. I tried making a strawberry cheesecake, which was not all that successful. It was my first attempt a making a cheesecake with gelatine, which I usually abhor since I prefer the New York style cheesecake. The cheesy part was a bit too soft, requiring longer to set, whilst the biscuit base was a bit too firm, requiring a chainsaw to cut through it. I'm just going back to making the New York style cheesecake, which I haven't mastered yet. The other dish I made was mini strawberry tarts. Again not a complete success - the shortcrust pastry (which I made from scratch) was a bit too crumbly and I didn't dry bake it long enough. The custard part was fine.

It just occurred to me that anything one cooks, no matter how bad or good it is, you'll be willing to eat your own creation. Both creations weren't that perfected but perfectly edible (actually the correct sweetness).

Exam stress

I just finished my psychiatry test just today. It was a bit humiliating, not because of the pertinent questioning of the examiners but the patient decided he would talk in English to help me. I do not need to be reminded my Chinese is crap. There are people who constantly remind me. There are people who are kind about it, just like today with my patient who said, "I noticed you are not fluent in Chinese." There are other people who are not so generous saying, "You're Chinese is crap." It is not just uneducated people who have said that. I've gotten that remark from university lecturers. I just find that Hong Kong people are not very tactful.

Thankfully my test went well and my next (plus last) exam will be in nine day's time. It's a long time to wait but at least it gives me time to rest and revise properly.

During exams, I always wondered why you get stressed. I know examinations are a highly stressful event but compared to war, violence and death it is not life threatening. You know the stress is coming and cannot do anything about it, so why does our heart beat faster and our hands tremble? The whole point of the body's response is to get ready to run or fight - it just doesn't help in a test. So why hasn't evolution gotten rid of this? Why does our mind tell our body to get ready for a fight that is not coming?

At least I'll have some time to ponder this.

Some observations about examinations

I tend to get bored in examinations, which is not a very good thing. It just so happens I tend to finish early in multiple choice questions, which everybody else does. Either you know the answer or you don't, so spending extra time on the question trying to decide between A, B, C, D or E won't benefit you, since you probably narrowed the answer to two choices. So what do you do when you finish early? You tend to go over the questions again, sleep or look around and what other people are doing.

Whilst observing my fellow brethren, it occurred to me that it was the same people who were getting up to use the toilet, myself included. I know I have a relatively small bladder and have been having some urinary problems of late. But there are some people who use the toilet during the exams more often than myself. I noticed one guy who used the toilet three times during the three hour examination we just had. This situation reminded of a bedside teaching session we had, when the same guy, answering the question "What are the common causes of fainting?", said urinating. To those even without a medical degree or knowledge know that taking a whiz is not a common cause of sudden collapse but my fellow peers have speculated ever since that this guy probably does faint if he hold his bladder too long. Maybe I'm reading too much into the scenario.

One of aspects I don't like about examinations are the post-exam histrionics. After spending three hours in complete silence, everybody has to talk for the sake of talking. The same subjects are verbalized - "How did you do?" "I did so badly!" "Did you answer XXX for question XXX?" etc. I don't need to know how you did and I don't know how I did, so there is nothing to tell. Discussing the question afterwards is of no help, unless you plan to sit the retake and I don't need every girl screaming and shouting "Oh dear! I'm going to fail!" I know it is just me making these observations but sometimes people have to look at themselves on how they behave and see if it is appropriate or not.

In the midst of Finals

I'm now in the middle of my written Finals, having taken the Surgery and Paediatrics written papers and surviving them. I still have my Psychiatric and Medicine written papers plus my clinical examinations but my mother is always on my back, trying to get me to study twenty four hours per day, seven days per week. At times I am thankful for this push but at times her logic can come across as very irrational. I'll write about my views about parents later.

My revision is not helped by my second flu in the same number of weeks. I've heard there has been a superbug going around Hong Kong but it seems to have affected me now. It has to be airborne since I don't go out of my flat very much, except to go to exams and I don't think any of my class peers have been sneezing or being infectious. You can spot an infectious medical student miles away by their face masks and fifteen layers of clothing.

There are so many news stories I want to comment about - Fidel Castro's resignation, the Democratic presidential nominee race, accusations of cheating within my faculty and Eduardo's fracture. Since I don't have much time, I will comment on one news story that has arisen.

Prince Harry has been forced to pull out of Afghanistan since his presence was leaked by the American website 'The Drudge Report". This is yet another reason why Americans are hated all over the world. They cannot keep the big gob shut. There is a reason why we want a media blackout for Prince Harry's presence - it will make him a target to the Taleban and endanger not only him but those around him. The media and the royal family had a deal - don't report Harry's deployment and we will give you access. Unfortunately the Americans are just not willing to play ball.

This is one of the reasons why I hate USA. They think the rules don't apply to them, whether it is the Kyoto treaty, the declaration of banning landmines or signing an amendment on the Geneva convention. They think they rule the Earth or have special rights since they are the most powerful nation on the Earth. Don't they read Spiderman - 'with great power comes great responsibility.'

I should say something about Prince Harry. For all his antics and status, at least he has done something I and most other people wouldn't do - go represent your country. That is something to praise him for.

"Did you know that David is now going out with his ex-girlfriend's sister and mother at the same time!!!!"

One of the reasons why I am so awkward in social functions and settings is the inability to gossip. I just cannot gossip with people. I find talking about nonsensical matters boring and tedious.

To ensure I was writing about the correct subject, I looked the word up in a dictionary. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, 'gossip' is defined as "a rumour or report of an intimate nature." Gossip usually entails talking about somebody that is of no concern of you, such as a distant work colleague or a celebrity, and is of an event or subject which has no relevance towards you or your daily life. It just feels good to talk about it because the subject matter is scandalous, the subject matter is fascinating as most people's lives are boring and the event usually entails the demise of a particular person or people.

In essence gossip performs no function in human society. People interject comments of matters that are of no concern of them and because gossip is based around rumours, erroneous facts and hearsay, the 'opinions' expressed by people are irrelevant. Gossip is used by people to fill the air because they hate the awkwardness of silence and the gossipers are too boring in the first place to offer something interest in their own mundane lives to talk about it.

It doesn't mean I am not interested in the lives of the people around me. Of course I want to hear if one of my friends is getting engaged or is getting a new job. Of course I do want to hear if one of my friends has just broken up or has been sacked. What I won't do is bask in their misery and talk about things behind their backs.

One of the most irrelevant pieces of gossip on the face of the planet is celebrities' private lives. I DO want to know which films actors are going to act in. What I don't need to know is with whom they are having sex with, the circumstances of their death if it is 'suspicious' or what they do in their private lives. In general it has no relevance to their performances of the silver screen. I don't care if you worship Satan in your spare time. As long as it is not illegal and harm others you can practise whatever weird religion for all I care. Thanks to the great interest of celebrities' private lives by the public, the public are in essence fuelling their demise by buying the tabloids and downloading celebrity gossip. Thanks to the insatiable appetite of the public for celebrity gossip, media outlets and the paparazzi are being encouraged to push the boundaries of privacy even further. Quite literally the public are driving some celebrities to the brink of insanity.

If people used the time to talk about gossip to talk about something else, something more constructive such as how to help the environment, end world poverty or even discuss which films will win the Oscars this year (at least that uses more than two brain cells), think of how much further the human race will be.

P.S. You would have noticed I did not make any particular references or examples in my blog entry. I feel by doing so I would fuel the reader's curiosity to find articles or pictures regarding the matter and further perpetuating the problem.

Not doing well...

- Finals coming up next Monday. Feel that I haven't done enough but I think everybody says that.
- Feel really stressed and dysphoric. Don't know why about the dysphoria.
- Now suffering from headache and muscle ache - the impending signs of flu.

I hate Valentine's Day

There are a few things in life I hate – racism, Dora Tai and right wing businessmen (& women) who hoard their money like squirrels do with their nuts and exploit everything within their sight. One phrase can group those things – extreme conservatives. Add to the list Valentine’s Day and you have my axis of evil.

I just hate today. It defies any sense of logic to put aside a day to express your love for somebody. You are supposed to love your special someone everyday of the year, so why is Valentine’s Day more special? I apply this argument to other special days, like Mothers’ & Fathers’ Day. I support the logic behind the religious festivals and Memorial Day/Remembrance Day to a certain degree. There are counter-arguments saying people don’t have enough time in their lives to express their love, so this is why we need Valentine’s Day. If you are so busy not to tell your significant other you love them, perhaps it is time to put one’s priorities in order.

I am bitter about Valentine’s Day. I have sent numerous Valentine’s cards, messages, flowers and gifts before but never received anything in return. Am I so repulsive? I don’t think I’m ugly enough to repel women like the poles on a magnet. I know I have put on a bit of weight but I think I have other redeeming qualities to attract the opposite sex. So why have I remained single all my life? I just figured most women do not know what to look for in a man, especially when I see hundreds of ladies going out with guys who treat them like shit. I’m not saying I’m better than most males (I know I have flaws) but it seems nice guys do finish last.

I think my problem is the way society perceives romance. Society has stated it must be the man who must do the wooing. Who made that stupid rule? Why cannot it be the other way around? If a girl likes a guy, why can’t she pursue him instead of trying to convince him to pursue her? It is the same questions I raise with the guy’s role in Valentine’s Day. If a guy does nothing for his girl on this day, despite having done a lot for the remaining 364 days of the year, society will judge him as a bad person. On the other hand if a guy does a lot for his partner on this day without having done much for the past year, he will be deemed quite a good boyfriend.

Only one part of society benefits from Valentine's Day - the companies who jack up prices so that we (generally the guys) overpay for items such as flowers, cards, chocolates and dinners. We are just saps to the corporate gimmicks.

I just hate Valentine’s Day. I just hope it will quickly go away as soon as possible.

English Premier League in Hong Kong?

Recently there has been a proposal by the English Premier League to consider playing competitive matches abroad in the near future. As a fan who would benefit from this idea, I think there are too many negative factors to stop this idea getting off the ground. Many of the fans and football websites tend to agree with me that this idea is ludicrous.

There is a good article from Football 365 about the negative factors which if you are interested you should read. It basically covers the arguments I would have mentioned in my blog. The only thing factor it doesn't mention is jet lag. It would be just about acceptable if you went to the Eastern United States or the Middle East but if you went to South East Asia or the West Coast of United States, the fatigue of travelling and different time zones come into play.

I also remember when the Premier League Asia trophy was played here in Hong Kong there was a lot of buzz for Liverpool but not for the other teams such as Fulham and Portsmouth, which is a pity since Portsmouth are a good side - just look at the league table. Unfortunately fans in Asia can switch allegiance quite rapidly, as long as they are supporting successful teams. Would fans in America be going to a game between Derby and Sunderland? I don't think so.

As an Arsenal fan, I'm rather glad my team doesn't go on money making tours in Asia or America, like the rest of the 'Big Four' clubs do. We let our football do the talking and if fans are intrigued, they can come to London to watch the games.

The Year of the Rodent

Kung Hei Fat Choi! Right now in Hong Kong it is the Chinese New Year. I really should say it is the Lunar New Year, since other societies and cultures also celebrate their Lunar New Year at this time of year with different festivities. That's according to Wikipedia, so I don't know how much that is true.

The Lunar New Year is the Chinese equivalent of Christmas or Thanksgiving, whether you are British or American. One spends time with family members one hasn't seen for the past year and after meeting them it is no wonder why one doesn't want to see them for the whole year. You receive presents you don't normally use - in this case it is usually chocolates you don't normally consume or those really bad butter biscuits which they emphasize are from Denmark for some reason.

One aspect I don't like about the Lunar New Year, particularly as a person who is very concerned about the environment, is the amount of paper used at this time of year. For Christmas an extraordinary amount of wrapping paper and Christmas cards are used. For the Chinese New Year, we also wrap our presents of chocolates and butter biscuits in streams of wrapping paper, give 'lai see' (red pockets filled with money) that have been manufactured by chopping down loads of trees and we put up decorations, usually in the forms of signs with seasonal greetings. Already an environmental group has asked people to consider alternatives, such as putting stickers with festive greetings instead of wrapping paper on their presents. Yet I doubt many people would do this. Many people don't want to clash with tradition.

You can tell it is the Lunar New Year by the local news coverage. It is the same standardized news that comes out every year, a bit like the local news coverage in US and UK during Christmas. The channels tell us how people celebrate the holidays, who is the first newborn of the year and what happens at the traditional places of celebration, such as the Wong Tai Sin temple and the Wishing Tree.

On a parting note, why do they have to call this year the Year of the Rat. Unfortunately the rat has a poor reputation, spreader of disease and filth. So when you think of this rodent, it is not in the highest esteem. Maybe they should rename it the Year of the Mouse, since most people think of mice as cute and cuddly?