From Penang with love

I always loved Penang. The food, the journey there, the city with a beach that is easily accessible and other stuff. This is the 3rd time going up to Penang in 2008 and I was given a goodbye treat in the form of diarrhoea, vomitting and fever. Still wondering what I ate that was the cause. Could it be... this?Perhaps the saliva of the aunty frying it (in Lorong Selamat) with full emotions as she starts scolding people who kept bugging her about their orders contaminated it? Nah... it just looks and tastes too good to be the culprit.

Maybe it's the cheap seafood here? Nah... I've never had a more fresh and reasonable seafood meal. A must-visit for subsequent Penang food trips (if I've gotten over the trauma of food poisoning).

...Or it could be the pasembor, otak-otak, o jian and other objects of gluttony found in Gurney Drive. (Reminds myself to stop drooling)Conclusion: I think it was a combination of all these. And the tiredness and dehydration due to volleyball playing along stone feringghi.

Anatomy made alive!

Since entering medical school, one of the most frequent questions that people ask me is, "Have you seen dead bodies yet?" or "Have you had your dissection classes?"; to which I'll sheepishly reply that I've not had any of those experiences. I remember looking with green eyes the pictures in Friendster of some people studying in Russia etc. who are proudly displaying the organs of the cadavers that they have mutilated. How fortunate... hmmph.

Anyways, imagine my excitement when we had anatomy classes with the cadaver this week! We were finally able to see the arteries, veins, tendons, muscles & nerves in their full glory as they would be inside our bodies. Well, perhaps there is a little difference, but this is as close as it gets! The experience made the plastic models of the organs look... plastic, and the anatomy book like a colouring book because most of the structures have almost similar colours in real life. Though we were not able to dissect the cadaver ourselves, the fact that we're able to feel how a tendon, artery etc. feels like in real life truly adds much flavor to the subject!

* The picture of the cadaver was omitted out of respect to him, who, according to my lecturer, is the real Professor.

Hand-iwork of the Creator

I'll never look at my hand the same way again after this week. Was lamenting with my friends about how impossible it is to remember all about the anatomy of the hand as it in itself contains 18 muscles that helps us in doing such wonderfully precised movements like typing, gripping, writing, etc.

Just to name a few, the flexor pollicis brevis muscle helps in bending your thumb & the flexor digiti minimi brevis helps in bending the little finger. That's not all, another two different muscles work in bending them back to their original position. The complexity of our human body is just so amazing, no wonder the psalmist said that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

Sometimes we just get so comfortable using our hands that we lose the sense of appreciation towards it. So the next time you want to use your hands for anything at all, perhaps the next moment when u touch your keyboard, just remember to thank the Creator for this masterpiece that is laid in front of your eyes.

FAQs

Whats with the new blog?
Like the herds of people who've gotten tired of waiting at the footsteps of Xanga, this migration is inevitable.

Why bother to even continue the blog somewhere else?
Honestly I don't even know if anybody actually takes the time to read this meaningless blabberings of mine. Oh well, at least I can use it as a recollection of the things that has been happening in life, and hopefully can look back and laugh at some of the silliness.

Why 'stapedius'?
Was really cracking my head over a new name for the blog and 'ting!' this name came to mind. It does sound cooler than all my previous attempts of names (of which I'm too embarassed to disclose). Back to stapedius, it's the name of the smallest skeletal muscle in the body (about 6mm long) that helps to finetune our hearing so that we won't hear excessive loud voices. So small yet so significant. I guess it's an inspiration in a way to be err... significant. Oh and it reminds me to dampen all the noise pollution of what the world is trying to say and listen to God's still small voice too. See! That's two good reasons on why stapedius.

Miscellaneous questions?
Nope. Thanks. Bye.