Busy at Christmas time

I'm currently on leave from work until after Christmas. I still have plenty to do over the next week. I've got two presentations I have to prepare which will be presented next week. Also I have to sort out my Annual Practising Certificate so that I can continue practising medicine and I have to sort out what I'm doing in the next three months at the next hospital - especially my car parking space.
========
My brother is back for the Christmas holidays. My mother asked me to take my leave from work at this time of year to be with my brother but to be perfectly honest, I don't know why she asked me. I don't talk to my brother much and I don't need to go out with him. Also he's pissing off to see his girlfriend in Malaysia after Christmas is over and his girlfriend is visiting us afterwards as well. Sometimes I do feel like an appendix - an useless appendage which nobody notices
========
I still hate weddings. At first I do get annoyed when friends don't invite me to weddings but in the end, I'm grateful I don't have to go. I just find it miserable and depressing all the time. Perhaps it just reminds me of my own martial status, the fact the weddings I have been to have been filled with doctors talking about boring doctor stuff or the whole sycophant affair is not benefiting the bride or groom but everybody else's benefit which I hate about weddings.

I just like to say a big 'Thank You' to all those who don't invite me and a big sorry to those who do for being such a miserable git.
========
Well done to AP McCoy for winning BBC Sports Personality of the Year. He's getting some due recognition for such a marvellous career and year, after winning the Grand National. I would have voted for Phil 'The Power' Taylor or Graeme McDowell. Amy Williams should also get a special mention as well.

I loved AP McCoy's last words to Cesc Fabregas in his thank you speech. I think he echoes every Arsenal fans' thoughts when he said it.

Dumbed down news

Two recent events have made me thing the news media has dumbed down in recent years.

I was on holiday in Koh Samui when Prince William announced he was going to marry Kate Middleton in 2011. Let me state I am happy for William and Catherine. Naturally this piece of news is a delight to hear and I wish them all the happiness in the world.

Yet can I move on after this announcement was finished? No, I couldn't since the media was relentlessly following this gold nugget for the next few days. The only news channel I could receive whilst I was in Koh Samui in my resort was BBC World News. I know the Beeb would report this piece of fact as the priority news bulletin, since it concerned the BRITISH Royal Family. Yet I'm disappointed how they treated this piece of news like a piece of tabloid gossip. Just read out the fact that Prince William and Kate Middleton are going to be married next year and move on.

But the BBC couldn't move on. I think they used every single reporter that was available to cover this story. From the University of St. Andrews, to RAF Anglesey to Kate Middleton's home to Kenya, there was constant speculation and gossip of what essentially what I class as a non-story - it doesn't really have an effect on the normal person and doesn't concern the long-term stability of the world. I'm very disappointed with the BBC News. You would think the BBC News, with its reputation of impartiality and credibility would now stoop so low to cover this story as a major news item. I know it is a piece of good news but really, after the first 24 hours, the Beeb should move on.

(Before you point it out, I know there is an irony of me writing about a non-news story which should be covered as news.)

The other story is Barack Obama getting a split lip in a Thanksgiving basketball game. The same rules apply with this story. It is a non-news story that has no major effect on the world or me.

I honestly think we as a human race have dumbed down enough to consider these two events as news. We should take a bit more interest in politics and economics but instead we are more concerned about celebrity weddings and world leaders getting injured. Doesn't this reflect the times?

I believe Stephen Fry is right...

Stephen Fry, acclaimed emperor of Twitter and aficionado of all things great and beautiful, recently got into trouble with the opposite sex by claiming that women do not enjoy sex. That statement seems ironic coming from a gay man, which has been pointed out by critics. "What would a gay man know about women and their sexual desires?" cried out feminists.

Yet I believe Stephen Fry is right, in some sought of way. There will be women in the world who would have a sexual drive which would put rabbits to shame. On the whole though, women are less sexually driven than men. I don't blame women for that attitude, since it is just the way they are wired. In all species, it is the male who tries to sow as much as seed into as many females as possible, so they have to be as sexually aggressive as they can. That is what their genes tell them to do. For the females, their chromosomes tell them to pick the best suitors with the most desirable characteristics - strength, intelligence, etc. So females have to be selective in choosing their partners and tend to hold out until they are absolute certain their partner is the best.

Nonetheless, shouldn't humans have progressed to the stage where they shouldn't be listening to their DNA and control their own lives? Yes we have but still women still have a "conservative" view on sex. As I stated before and I will state again, women then to attach sex with love, which I don't believe is true. You can have sex without love and love without sex...

Sex with love = the perfect relationship
Sex without love = one night stands, prostitution, fuck buddies, etc.
Love without sex = Most marriages after a few years
No love or sex = single

For most men, I am frustrated there are fewer women who have the same attitudes towards sex as I do. In UK and US, the situation is better. There are ways to link up with people who like straight cruising or fuck buddies or one night stands through reliable means. In Hong Kong and I reckon most other Asian countries, the attitudes towards sex is still in the Dark Ages. Trying to link up with a lady who likes sex as much as I do is nigh impossible.

Of all the ladies I know in Hong Kong, I can only think of two women who I reckon will like sex as much as men do. One is a doctor and one is a nurse who does wear very sexy clothes outside of work.

Yet dressing up sexy and being interested in sex are two different things. For some women, dressing up sexy is not an indication they want to have sex. Sometimes they want to feel powerful, that they captivate men and put them underneath their thumb just because they are showing a bit of skin. Other times, they just want to spite other women by attracting more attention from men.

Before you say it, I'm not frustrated about women having these attitudes towards sex. I'm just frustrated I can't find the women who have the same attitudes towards sex like I do.

Dating

I went out for a date on Thursday night. It is only the second person I went out with a date with. The girl I went out with, we had three dates before deciding that our relationship wasn't going to work out for various reasons and we ended the relationship amicably.

This time, the date was arranged by an English radio programme, which would be highly unusual in any person's life. All we did was have a nice dinner together. I think the date went well from my perspective. Yet I have no idea if she thought the same as well. I'm just a bad reader of women in general. I think the major sticking point is the age difference. She is older than me. I don't find that a problem (which may mean I'm desperate) but I think this issue stuck in the back of her mind.

Generally I find it difficult to find dates. I have very selective criteria. I do want to date somebody with a Western background, which limits my options in Hong Kong. I find Hong Kong dating websites not generally helpful. They usually have to pay a fee to use their full services, which is annoying and their scope is limited. I may even have to resort to asking my friends for suggestions.

There must be a way for somebody like me to find a date, isn't there?

Professional hatred (part 4)

Accounting / bankers / stockbrokers
If you have anything to do with finance, I hate you. I just think you are the parasite sucking on the life blood of the earth and draining the world of any vitality it once had. Your primary aim in life is to make more money. You just don't want to make money to buy a house or a car, or to fund your parents' retirement or your children's future. Basically you are driven by greed and no other motive, which I think is dangerous. In my mind, you will do anything and screw over anybody just to squeeze out that net profit, even if it means selling your own grandmother.

Not only that, you make finance incredibly difficult to understand. Once a upon a time, what you did with money is either spend it or save it. Now you have to invest the money you earned into a whole variety of schemes - shares, bonds, options, real estate, etc. Where did the habit go of just paying for material goods, like bananas, shoes and screwdrivers?

As it turned out, those bankers didn't really know what they were doing. Lending money who couldn't possibly pay it back? Please, I don't have an economics degree and I could have told you that was a bad idea. Worst of all, once the governments bailed out the banks, those in the banking system did sod all. Bankers didn't apologize for what they did and did nothing to help out the economy either. They still got paid the absurdly humongous wages they have and even had the cheek to have bonuses as well.

Society should revert back to a system where people should be rewarded for their usefulness. People like farmers who provide food, nurses who provide health care and police officers who provide protection. These jobs are vital and we would miss them. Kill a million bankers and you would bat an eyelid.

At this point I should point out I'm a socialist. Even though I am paid quite well as a doctor, I accept that I will be taxed quite heavily to contribute to society. Actually when I saw my tax bill for the upcoming year, I frightened my dogs when I shouted out the amount. I accept that taxes are necessary to pay for many things, and actually it pays for my salary. However I don't like people who avoid paying tax. That is where my hatred for accountants come in. Most of them I believe (which I know is not true but please satisfy my ego by continuing this line of thought) try to help their clients avoid paying tax. If you don't contribute to society, you should get anything out of society.

This is where I don't like my uncle. According to my father, he doesn't pay tax in Hong Kong since his business is in China. I don't know if he pays tax in China but I'm suspecting he really doesn't. And he still lives in Hong Kong, sending his son to school here and using the health care system. Even though he's a resident here, I still believe that is wrong.

I know he is my uncle but that doesn't make him immune to my vitriol. The same applies to my brother and a number of friends who work in the finance sector. I love my brother very much but I hate his job as an employee of UBS, another bank who had a bailout. I am jealous of his wages and his benefits. I have the capabilities to become a banker. Yet I don't have the soul for the job or rather I do have a soul which I am unwilling to sell to the devil.

Gordon Gekko once said, "Greed is good." If that is the case, why is greed one of the seven deadly sins.

Professional hatred (part 3)

PR / Marketing / Advertising
The sophisticated science fiction author H.G. Wells once said that, "Advertising is legalized lying" and I'm inclined to agree. I can't stand anybody who works in the field trying to portray something that isn't there or more likely trying to hide the truth from being known.Ever since the growth of media and the need to sell material items, the role of public relations has essentially made people not what they are.

Let's take a recent case study. The News of the World, one of the most trashiest tabloids (I'm not even going to call them 'a newspaper') in Britain, has recently published a story that Wayne Rooney, the England and Manchester United football star, had sex with a prostitute whilst his wife Coleen McCoughlin was pregnant.

Firstly to continue my hatred of tabloid journalism, this is a story that nobody needs to know. Not the general public, not the football fans, this is a private matter between a husband and a wife. The News of the World are just wasting everybody's time in order to sell newspapers by publishing a non-essential story.

However it has come to this stage where footballers and any other stars are required to be portrayed as wholesome members of society in order to sell products and remain in the spotlight. This is where the PR / marketing parasites come in. They have been whispering in Wayne Rooney's ear that essentially he has to be something that he really is not. I'm not saying I approve of Rooney's behaviour but if PR / marketing didn't exist, there wouldn't be such an outcry of this story. We would just leave Wayne and Coleen to sort out their own problems.

The same idea applies to any other major celebrity. I don't care if Tom Cruise is a crackpot who believes in Scientology and is married to somebody more than 15 years younger than him. If he makes good movies, that is all I care about. I don't really care if Amy Winehouse is a drug addict either. It's her choice and if she dies - so be it - but if she kicks the habit, good for her. I don't care if my local politician is gay/lesbian/black/white/rich/poor, as long as he/she can do the job honestly (which would rule out Tony Blair).

And to be honest, I wouldn't buy Twinings tea just because Stephen Fry advertised it. Nor would I buy an iPad just because Stephen Colbert whipped the device out of his suit pocket at the Grammys. I buy products because of their use, not because of their association.

Which leads me to advertising. I don't mind inventive TV adverts, which are mini films in their own right. The advertising I most hate is the inaccurate use or misuse of science in their campaign.

I have long hated any adverts selling formula milk. Any TV advert seems to claim that the formula milk has added substances to help children be smarter, forgetting to add the fact that most of these substances do occur naturally in your diet and there is no need for supplementation. Also advertising seems to portray drinking these brands of formula milk will instantly make your kids brainier, without mentioning the need of a stimulating environment, good schooling, an appropriate social group and parental involvement.

I often thought that parents should be drinking formula milk more than their children, since obviously they blindly follow anything advertised on TV.

Professional hatred (part 2)

Recent events have brought up some another profession I despise...

Tabloid reporters
I respect most reporters who uncover stories of corruption by government officials or tales of deception by big companies. I have great admiration for the journalists who go to dangerous spots in the world like war zones or areas of high crime to highlight the plight of the oppressed and the underrepresented.

There is one branch of journalism that I don't like: the tabloid news. Basically they publish news which will make them the most money, rather than news which should be relevant to the people reading or watching it. They drum up ridiculous stories, such as celebrity gossip. I can't stand celebrity gossip. There is a primetime half hour show on TVB Jade, the local Chinese channel here in Hong Kong, devoted to stories about popstars and soap opera actors. Thankfully the evening news is on the other channel at the same time, sparing me from having to watch that trash.

There is also news that is totally irrelevant and doesn't have an impact on me even in the slightest. Such stories include, "I found a picture of Jesus on my toast!" and "Tortoise found with two heads!" These stories have a definite interest but they should displace the economy or the war in Afghanistan or the plight of flood-stricken Pakistanis from the front pages. These are stories that swarmy git Piers Morgan would put on the front pages of the newspapers during his time as editor of "The Sun" and "The Mirror". If there had been a face of tabloid journalism, his face would be it... and I would never get tired punching it.

There is one aspect of journalism that I don't like. In the recent tragedy of the Hong Kong tourists dying in Manila, I was really pissed off when journalists, with their microphones and cameras surrounding the survivors like a pack of vultures. All they wanted was to get the story but would they consider their feelings? These people have gone through the most horrific trauma of their lives, being shot at and seeing their loved ones die right in front of their eyes. At least give them a day or two before asking them how they feel (which is a bit obvious).

Professional hatred (part 1)

There are some professions I despise. Mostly it is a generalized stereotypical hate, born out of their reputation than actually meeting anybody in that career path. Yet I have met some people working in these areas and they just confirm my prejudices. They are blood sucking parasites and their cull would benefit society. I apologize for any of my friends who are in these jobs. Once you are outside work, you're generally a good human being. Once you start talking about spreadsheets and euros, you start to become a prick.

Lawyers
Generally I haven't encountered a real lawyer. I met some law students whilst I was studying medicine and they seem OK. It's just the one's who seem to represent the scum of the earth and bill their clients into bankruptcy I have a problem with. One of those law students (who was pretty fit) justified to me that everybody has a right to representation. I tend to agree with that (and not because she was fit). But the lawyer also has a right to refuse to represent the client. I generally couldn't represent the client knowing he or she was guilty.

Also lawyers are the ones who make the law so monumentally difficult to understand that you need to employ a lawyer just to get past the contents page in the law books. If the law was much easier to understand, most people would respect it more rather look at it as some secret code ruled over by an occult society.

Right-wing politicians
I think most of the general population hates politicians. Actually I tend to think most politcians are decent folk. Yet it is the ones who come from the right wing who irk me. Most of the ones from the left wing tend to enter the field so they can do some general good. If you think of all the prominent politicians who have done good in the world, they tend to have left wing politics. Naturally there are socialist leaders who haven't done that well, such as Josef Stalin.

Most of the right wing politicians come into the field to protect their own - the businesses - and nothing else. These are the ones who tend to abuse their power by employing their friends and family into prominent positions. These are the ones who are the most likely to put everything they use on expenses and get the taxpayer to pay for their holiday in the Caribbean.

Before you ask, I am a socialist / left-wing favourist. I do acknowledge there are left-wing politicians who perform these heinous crimes as well. Yet in the grand scheme of things, it tends to be the right wing politicians who seem to come out of these scandals smelling of shit.

Anyway, I do have more professions I hate but I think that is enough bile for one blog entry...

Cause and effect

I don't listen to much music anymore. Most of the time I download radio programs and podcasts, nearly all of them coming from the UK. One of the radio programs I like is "The Infinite Monkey Cage", a BBC Radio 4 program mixing science and comedy. One of their episodes was science and religion - always murky waters to dive into. The priest who was representing religion believed that science comes across as having all the answers. The scientist representing, eh, science (a bit obvious - he wasn't exactly going to be representing religion, was he?) replied that science doesn't always have the solution and that is why there is science - to look for the answers. That same concept applies to medicine. Doctors and medical experts don't always have the answers but we continue to pursue for the answer.

I don't think the main population realize this concept. They believe medicine is this magical science, that one pill will cure all illnesses and doctors are wizards who can miraculously make people better. Yet it is not like that. The miracle should be the human body, which can repair itself despite some horrendous injuries and damage. Most of the prolongation of life expectancy is not due to the invention of antibiotics & medication or the advancement of medical technology but due to the improvement in hygiene and sanitation.

The main parents' question, "Why did my son/daughter get infected or get this disease?", doesn't have a real concrete answer. Yet there are a lot of questions they ask which is borne out of not stupidity but ignorance or the lack of proper education at school. Why don't you use antibiotics in this viral infection? My child has had a fever for two days but it isn't down yet - why? Is there any particular brand of formula milk which will make him cleverer, prevent him from getting infections or make him able to fly? Why can't parents remember the time when they were children and constantly having colds and runny noses all the time?

Clearly what is needed a change in the education system. More of this basic information should be taught in children at an early age, along with social issues such as what is a government and why do we need to pay taxes, etc. If we had education like this, I would see less cases of kids coming in with a gum infection because his mother did not bother to brush his gums every day but every week.

********

Still looking out for potential girlfriends. Just hoping one of the beautiful women from TVB Pearl News to notice me. Keeping my fingers cross. There are a few cute ladies who I am working with. There is a fellow Family Medicine trainee who is cute but she is one year senior than me (not, should I emphasize, one year older than me) - don't know how that will work. There is also a cute student nurse working in the paediatrics ward. The paediatric doctor I'm working with is also very cute. I love her look with the those secretary/librarian glasses.

I shouldn't mention anymore - she could be reading this :P

Insurance and financial plans

There are a number of jobs I hate, which will be a topic of a later blog entry. One of the people I hate are those trying to sell you insurance or financial plans. I have been ambushed three times and have been asked out to talk about buying a financial firm's scheme to make money for me and more importantly for them. When they approach me, I'm just too nice to turn them down. I smile politely and answer their questions. Now I just resort to not taking their calls. Thank goodness for caller ID.

I just want to say this to all people who have to sell stuff like this. If I wanted a financial plan, I would have bought one already. If I needed insurance, I would have already acquired it. I don't need to buy something I don't need or have no intention at buying at this moment. I'm not reliant on my parents or anybody else for money and vice versa. I'm quite happy to stay with the Hospital Authority for my health needs at the moment. If I die, it would be a travesty (in a financial sense) to my family.

So please, stop pestering me.

A sinking ship

You know you have an unhappy work environment when many of the employees leave in quick succession. Naturally people change jobs, going from one company to another. Yet if a significant number of people quit the department, you know there is something wrong.

One department that I used to work in, which shall remain nameless, had one associate consultant, two resident specialists and one resident leave in quick succession. This left the department short-staffed for some time before it could recruit people to join their team. Many of those left behind may have complained of the situation there were dealt with but if you know the circumstances and reasons why so many people left, you would probably understand.

Many doctors in the Hospital Authority want to go into the private sector, sooner rather than later as they want to control their own working hours and conditions. Others don't like the working conditions they are dealt with, mostly the rules and regulations they are imposed with. Some are dissatisfied with the boss they are working with. Others just want to change their specialty having found out they don't like the current specialty they are working. Some doctors, mainly women, start to work part time so they can take care of their kids. There are a whole variety of reasons why people leave.

What people don't want to be is part of a sinking ship.

Being hounded

One of the reasons why I don't like going out is when I go into a shop, I am immediately accosted by a shopping assistant, asking me whether or not I need any help. This is even before I decided what I want to buy.

I just don't like shopping assistants in general. When they come over to me and ask me what I want, I always answer, "I'm just browsing". I always feel pressured to buy something when that shopping assistant starts to talk to me. I know they want to sell their products but have they ever thought it might turn some people off.

What I would like is to shop in piece without being hassled. When I do decide to buy something, I will bring it to the counter and pay for it. I don't need assistance in doing that. I might need assistance if I can't find what I'm looking for or I need help - that is when I will find a shopping assistant.

So please stop hounding me. Not every person in your shop is looking to buy something. Sometimes browsing is a good thing.

How a guy thinks

School friend: Hot, curves in all the right places. Has boyfriend though.
University friend 1: Beautiful, kind, generous. Boyfriend status unknown. Probably scared of my liberal ways.
University friend 2: Nice, very artistic minded. Don't know her that well.
University friend 3: Nice friend. A bit more liberal minded than most people.
Doctor 1: Beautiful, nice. Has boyfriend though.
Nurse 1: Totally hot. Should wear make-up more.
Doctor 2: Cute.
Doctor 3: Cute.
TVB Pearl newsreaders/reporters: All very beautiful. Thinks TVB Pearl is using them as window dressing. Not complaining though.

In the middle of nowhere

A few months ago, I was listening to a radio program called "Mark Steel's in Town", where the stand-up comedian Mark Steel visits lesser known towns and villages in UK to perform a half hour show using material regarding the town's history, famous people and historical landmarks. In the latest series in April/May, he went to the two most furthest points in the whole of the British Isles. The comedian went to Penzance, in the far south west of England, and to Kirkwall, which is the capital of Orkney - the island north of Scotland.

In the show Steel remarks how isolated and far away these two villages are. Most people would think these places are a nightmare to live, in the middle of nowhere and remote. But these are exactly the places I want to work in and stay in.

I hate crowds to begin with. I rarely venture out into the metropolis of Hong Kong, with the highest population density of any country in the world. The hustle and bustle just doesn't fit me. This is probably the reason why I continue to live my parents in the countryside, because I dread living in the middle of the city. I know it is very convenient, next to shops and restaurants, yet there is the constant noise and air pollution. It is not for me.

Which is probably why I yearn to be in places in Kirkwall and Penzance. I probably be happy being a doctor in Cheung Chau or Lamma Island here in Hong Kong as well. I also pondered whether or not I can be a doctor in the Australian outback as well. And I have actively said before I wouldn't mind being posted to the Antarctic.

The only thing I would probably need is fast broadband connection and my MacBook Pro. I self sufficient enough to cook and clean for myself. Family? I would miss them but they would miss me more. Friends? I hardly see them that often as it is.

No, I would be perfectly happy in the middle of nowhere.

From gynaecology to paediatrics

I just finished my first year of residency in family medicine and I feel I am as stupid as ever. This is nothing to do with the departments I've been with. They have been very helpful and very nice, especially the gynaecology department I have been attached with for the past three months. I learnt quite a deal of gynaecology in my past three months. Hopefully I will retain all that wisdom and knowledge when I return to the general outpatient clinics and during my exams.

A part of me is relieved to be leaving gynaecology. The only aspect I don't like about the specialty is the patients. Women can be very troublesome, which is probably why I have been single for past 29 years of my life. I honestly believe women have far more somatic complaints than men, so they have to see the doctor more often. On some occasions this is a good thing as if they have a severe condition, they can be treated earlier. However nine times out of ten they complaint is usually very minor. For men, they want to appear strong and their ego prevents them from presenting to the doctors very early. This can be troublesome later if they have a severe condition which should have been treated earlier if they presented earlier.

Also I will be thankful never to perform another gynaecology examination again. I don't mind staring at vaginas all day long but, as Hong Kong women never shave that region ever, it can get wearisome if you have to look at something that looks like a Venus flytrap or when the Predator from the Predator movies takes off his/her helmet. Hundreds of patients and only two shaved pussies. As you probably guess, those two women were foreigners.

So now I'm in paediatrics and hope not to cock up too much. Also I want more fulfilment in my life so I've started exercising to reduce weight and studying for my examinations next year. Hopefully the next few months will be OK.

Weekend driver!

For nearly six months, I have driven constantly to and from work on a regular basis. Added with my previous experience of one year weekly commuting between the medical hall of residence and home, I think I am in a position to comment on the state of the roads today.

I'm not stating I am a perfect driver but I have improved over the past half year. Regularly driving, even if it is the same route at the same time of day, does help improve your driving skills. I also drive quite economically, trying to get the best fuel economy out of my VW Golf. That means driving a bit slower than I previously did and knowing when to switch to the left hand lane to allow other road users to overtake me.

Also by being more efficient, I have to be more aware of other drivers and the road conditions, leading to be a much safer and more self-aware driver. That cannot be said for all drivers. You would expect the more you drive, the more courteous and safer driver you are. It does not necessarily work out that way. I think the drivers with the worst manners on the roads are the professional drivers. These are the drivers who are on the roads most of the day as their job dictates it. These include people who transport goods, minibus drivers and taxi drivers. However they are the least likeliest to give way when other cars need to merge and break every known traffic law.

There are a few acts on the roads that I really hate which I will go into much detail about:

1. Using indicators

Whether it is to turn right or left or to change lanes, everybody should indicate with their lights where they are going. It doesn't take much effort and it doesn't wear down the batteries. So why don't more people do it? It is probably down to sheer laziness.

It is a matter of courtesy for other drivers to let them know where you are going. Also it is a matter of safety. You don't want a car suddenly pulling in front of you from the next lane. For pedestrians, you would want to know which way the car is turning or going so you can safely cross the road.

2. Giving way

I hate people who don't give way. Whether it is two lanes that are merging into one or to allow somebody out when they have been waiting for quite some time, you should be courteous enough to allow other cars out when it is necessary. I do believe in karma and I do believe it will bite back or reward you later.

3. Tailgaiting

Maybe not quite a great offence but it is bloody frightening if somebody is following your car pretty closely. Especially if the vehicle is a heavy goods lorry. You dare not brake, you're more likely to increase your speed and you spend more time looking in your rearview mirror than looking at the road ahead.

4. Queue jumpers

My dad those this a lot. When there is a queue on the highway/motorway, he uses the other lanes to queue jump. I hate these discourteous drivers. You should get in lane like everyone else.

5. People who use mobile phones

A lot of Mercedez Benz / BMW drivers in Hong Lok Yuen do this. Just because they think they are driving at a slow speed with little traffic in the vicinity, they think they can talk on their mobile phones. But there are still other road users, there are still pedestrians around and the traffic laws of Hong Kong still apply. Just wait until you get home to take the call.

Remember, not only you are using the roads - there are other drivers on the motorways.

Stuck inside

I cannot believe my luck. Not only am I on-call on a Saturday - the worst day of the week to be stuck inside a hospital - but it happens to fall on the day England play USA in their first group game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Thankfully I'm only working in gynaecology, which means we don't have to admit patients after 17:00 and the wards are relatively quiet during the evenings. I can sneak out to watch the match but it is a late evening kick-off. Currently mood leads me not to watch the match. I just cannot be bothered to wake up at 02:00 to go and watch the match.

As gynaecology is relatively quiet at my hospital, it gives me too much time to ponder about my life. I should be getting on with a presentation that I have to give on Thursday but yet I'm thinking about my existence. Currently I'm not depressed but not totally happy either. I'm just stuck in a rut and cannot get out. The best way to describe my state is dissatisfaction and ambivalency. I'm currently in a good job which is not that demanding. I'm dreading the next year as I will be in Medicine and Paediatrics plus I should start revising for my HKCFP exams. Apart from that my job is OK yet I have an itching feeling I'm not totally comfortable the position I'm in. I cannot complain about the pay or benefits. I have enough cash in the bank not to worry about my financial status, since my parents are not dependent on me. I also don't spend huge amounts of money like dining out or buying DVDs since I can control myself to buy what I only need.

I know I still live at home with my parents at the age of 29 years old but that's normal in Hong Kong and I don't really want to spend money buy or rent somewhere to live when I can save up the money later and economizing by staying with my parents. I currently have an aim to make try to lose weight by eating less and cycling about half hour per day. Maybe that's driving me crazy - the hunger cravings for desserts which I cannot make since I stopped all after dinner snacking. My mum is not helping matters by constantly buying food despite my pleas not to since I won't eat all of it.

I'm not looking for a relationship at the moment, not after the last "relationship" I was in. I am meeting my friends this month, which means I'm not totally isolating myself at home. Maybe all of this is just in my head and is the depression talking to me. Maybe I should say to myself that all is fine, there is nothing to worry or be dissatisfied about. I need to tell myself that once I've lost weight, maybe I can go out and meet women.

Right have to go back and start some exercise...

It's not complicated anymore

One of the features Facebook should put on the website is a notification of when people defriend you. That's what happened to me recently. No sooner had I written my last blog entry and posted it up, the lady in question immediately defriended me.

Am I hurt? A little bit but in the long run I will be OK. Did I do anything wrong? Maybe, by posting up my thoughts on the aforementioned girl so the public could read it. Yet I was careful not to mention her name and none of my other friends know of her. Also everything I mentioned I had discussed with her before, so it is not like she didn't know about it. Also if I did anything wrong, I don't know what I did wrong. All that I mentioned was that I don't want her to be my girlfriend but I was perfectly happy for her to be my friend. If she is reading this, I apologize for what I did.

So now I don't even have to write why I don't want her to be my girlfriend.

Now I'm going through an "episode" right now. I self analyze my life too much. I'm approaching thirty years old. I still haven't had a girlfriend or had sex. When women go about their biological clock, men go about losing their virginity. It's a male ego thing which I would gladly want to shed but cannot. It would be perfectly fine if I was isolated from the outside world. Yet the evil that is Facebook is a constant reminder of my misery.

People younger than me are having relationships, getting married, having sex and having kids!!!! I would be perfectly happy with this state of the world, if it were not the fact that these people are the last you would expect to perform nookie. These are the people who save themselves for sex after marriage because it is the right thing to do and then only roll around in the hay to have babies like it was a national requirement so you can have tax benefits. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy for them. It' just makes me more miserable about my relationship status and it's all my fault.

Once upon a time back in secondary school I accepted that it was perfectly fine to stay not married. I knew the chances of finding a partner were slim, with my complicated upbringing, high standards and my depressive background. I still think that but it is constantly on the back of my mind, gnawing like what my dogs do to their bones - generally eating away until there is no resistance.

So now I'm gone to desperate measures to make myself presentable to the opposite sex. I've started dieting, but only a little amount. It is difficult to diet when other people cook for you and you have to go out to eat with other people during work. I've also started cycling nearly every day to lose weight. However I'm not losing weight quickly enough, so I think I have to start running again.

Oh the things we do to get somebody to love us. Sooner or later I'll probably be crazy enough to start diet pills or prescribe myself thyroxine* to lose weight...

(* I'm joking of course - none of my friends should take it seriously and especially any doctors reading this.)

It's complicated

For all the criticism Facebook has received in redesigning its layout or having its privacy policy attacked, one thing I have got out of Facebook is the best way to describe most relationships - "It's complicated." I never heard of an easy relationship between a man and a woman, or even between a man and another man or between a woman and another woman. You catch my drift - romance is difficult at the best of times and outright insane during the worst of times. That is what I'm in at the moment.

Over a month ago, a lady whom I didn't know asked me to add her as a friend on Facebook. Naturally I had to ask why she wanted me as a friend. She reads my blog and found me an interesting person with quite some unique and thought-provoking ideas. So we struck up a relationship, chatting on Facebook and getting to know each other a bit more. Facebook chats turned to long conversation on the phone and before long, we finally met face to face. So far we have gone out three times, what most people call "dates".

"So what's complicated about this relationship?" you might ask. A lot of things in this relationship are a potential mine waiting to detonate.

First of all, she is really interested in me. I don't know if she is in love with me but her enthusiasm for me is more than my interest in her. I like as a friend but I don't love her as a girlfriend or potential partner for life. I get to the reasons why later. I never thought I would be in this situation where a girl/lady loves me but I don't love her. I thought I would be grateful to have somebody who loves me but I'm not. I just don't love her in the way she loves me.

Somehow her enthusiasm for me is a bit suffocating. Perhaps I'm not used to a person liking me so much. Not even my closest friends pay this much attention to me. She constantly phones me nearly every day to talk about trivial matters of what she has done today and to bitch about work. I don't mind hearing once every so often. Yet to hear the same matter nearly every single day is a bit tiresome. She also constantly wants to me to come out with her and sometimes (actually most of the time) I just want to stay at home. Perhaps that's why I don't have a girlfriend - I just don't want to go out usually. I just stayed cooped up in my bedroom, watching episodes of "Mock the Week" and surfing on the Internet. I do admit I have to get out more.

I also have the feeling she is bossing me around a lot. During our dates, she is the one dictating where we go and what to do. I feel I don't have a say in the matter. Don't get me wrong, she's not asking me to spend lots of money or perform any illegal acts. It just feels this relationship is a bit one-sided and I'm not getting much input or output. The conversations are a bit one sided as well, with mostly her doing the talking.

So am I an evil guy for talking about her faults so publicly on my blog? No, not really. Most of what I've written she already knows. On our third "date" we already established that this was not a serious love relationship and that we were free to see other people. Yet I am still getting signals she wants to pursue this relationship to another level.

Anyway, I've still more things to talk about this "relationship" and I've already used up my quota of quotation marks. I'll write further on why her and I are not compatible.

Ignorant faith - sports fanaticism

I have written about faith before in this blog but I feel I should readdress this issue.

I do believe faith is important in society. There are things you need to believe in despite there being no evidence or logic to the argument. We, as a collective species, cannot always rationalize everything into a simple statement. Yet you cannot always have 100% blind faith. Most of the time you need a heavy big dose of reality or logic. In my opinion there are three situations were faith can be misguided: faith in God (religion), faith in your country (patriotism) and faith in your sports team (sports fanaticism).

********

For those who know me well, I’m an Arsenal supporter first, an England football fan second and a football fan third. I will watch top quality football anywhere and take a general interest in “The Beautiful Game”. Yet if it does not involve the Gunners or the Three Lions, I am not that emotionally detached to the match or the news story.

Yet my fanaticism is pale and weak compared to the full-blooded devotion of some football supporters. I’m generally well grounded in my support for Arsenal football club. I know we haven’t won a trophy in five years. This give some supporters fuel to their claims Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, should leave the club. They believe Wenger’s policy of not spending on big money experienced players and not focusing on the team’s defensive capabilities is holding the club back.

Yet I generally believe Arsene Wenger is performing a good job. He is our most successful manager in terms of longevity and trophy-wise. He’s been in the job for more than thirteen years, longer than any other Arsenal manager and the second longest streak in the Premier League, behind Sir Alex Ferguson. He has won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups plus taken the team to the UEFA Cup final and UEFA Champions’ League final. He has broken many records, including going through a whole league campaign unbeaten. He’s always constantly linked to other managerial jobs of other teams, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and the French national team.

He has built a good base of young players displaying magnificent footballing skill and prowess. Apart from Barcelona, we generally the best team to watch play football. We have the likes of Fabregas, Van Persie, Song and Vermalaen, who are leaders for the team and for their country. We recently won the Premier League U18 championship and have produced young players for other teams, including Kolo Toure and David Bentley.

The club is on a good financial foundation compared to other Premier League clubs, despite having a £300 million debt having built The Emirates Stadium. We are not totally in debt to foreign owners such as Liverpool and Manchester United. We don’t really on a sugar daddy like Chelsea and Manchester City.

Yet this blog entry is about the ignorance in faith by sport fanatics. I know we haven’t won anything in the past five years but every team goes through a purple patch. Liverpool haven’t won a title in twenty years. Tottenham haven’t won a title in fifty years. I hate comparing Arsenal to other teams but this is the only way to bring perspective to yourself and other fans.

Arsenal’s defensive frailties are clearly visible - our goalkeepers look flaky, we need stronger centre-backs and a back-up to Alex Song is required. Yet I know Arsene Wenger is aware of these problems since he’s the manager. He didn’t win all those trophies and spot all those talented players simply by pot-luck. He has a vast wealth of experience, knowledge and football intelligence at his fingertips and he will be thinking of how to rectify these problems. Fans, on the other hand, think they have a divine right to manage their own team just because they have seen the team play every week for the past two years, have an emotional attachment to the team like a mother to her baby and have read every single piece of gossip regarding their team. This is what separates the professional from the fan. The professional do have a personal attachment to their profession but it comes with knowledge and perspective – unlike fans who clearly lose all logical thought whenever the focus of their blind attention comes into view.

Those Arsenal fans who bay for Arsene’s blood have clearly lost perspective. They tend to forget the dour years the team had in the mid-nineties when we weren’t winning anything PLUS playing very defensive football. It wasn’t pretty to watch.

Also if we get rid of Arsene Wenger, who would take charge? Clearly none of the backroom staff don’t have the experience or clout to become a manager, including the likes of Pat Rice, Liam Brady or Steve Bould. Anybody else who is consider decent is either tied up to another job, for example Pep Guardiola. Currently nobody is available to take over, so we might as well have to make do with Arsene Wenger.

Plus it is just football. I know Bill Shankly uttered the immortal phrase, “Football is not about life and death – it’s more important than that” but really it is not. It is not as important as your health, your family and friends or your job. If football disappeared from your life, I think you could cope or find another substitute for the vacancy. That could not be said about your health, your family and friends or your job.

Clearly Arsenal fans need to keep things in perspective. After all there is always next season…