圣诞节快乐

西方的节日里头，我最喜欢的就是圣诞节了。
说是西方的，其实在国际化的今天来讲，已经是全球的节日了。
大马的好友们都放假的同时，身在美国里的我还得工作。真是的！

西方的圣诞节很家庭式的。就好像过节吃团圆饭一般。从圣诞节前夕开始，大家都关门大吉，不做生意。赶着回家过圣诞。街上，道路上都是冷清清的。好像是全城的人都死光了，有些可怕。

东方的圣诞节很不同，就好像大节日一般，大家出去吃饭呀，购物啊，开圣诞派对啊，挺热闹的。情侣们也借这日子，搞第二个214情人节--拍拖，吃西餐。在日本，一提起圣诞节，就是吃圣诞蛋糕的日子了。
我喜欢东方圣诞节，因为到处都张灯结彩，很漂亮，却同时给人很幽静，很舒服的感觉。

今年又买了一棵圣诞树。但是没时间给它化妆。哈哈。图如下：







吴生人挺好，明知道我工作忙，特地把圣诞节派对改到星期天来，让我能和他的几个亲友过圣诞。匆匆忙忙买了几个圣诞礼物，待会儿煮个肉骨茶带过去。

今年的圣诞，忙着工作的我，还是要祝福各位，圣诞节快乐。也同时祝各位新年快乐！

想家

小时候　有个梦想
就是在翅膀成形之时　远走高飞
体验独立生活　寻找属于自己的方向

就这样　
种种机缘　让我能张开那还来不及坚硬的翅膀　
离开了家　
离开了熟悉的保护网
到了人地生疏的土地上　　　
如愿以偿　

没了家里的吵吵闹闹　
没了亲朋戚友的应酬和炫耀
少了１２点钟的门限和家条
生活的确是十分清幽　逍遥

十多年　世界已变了不少模样
坚硬的翅膀　
却无法补偿　那心灵的渴望
－希望不久的将来　可以终于回家吃团圆饭。

写垃圾

今天终于下定决心 -- 写垃圾。

要写垃圾，也得考功力：要够无聊，心情要够乱。

也不知道是不是最近阳光不够，还是营养不足，最近就是杂念多多。

很想到海边去，早上在海滩上看书，晚上捕鱼温饱肚子。哈哈，发觉自己越来越天真了！

笑。

Day light saving...

So, this is something I find interesting during my first year in the US...

I woke up early at 5am today (even though it is a Sunday morning...) to get ready for work. I am on call for the weekend, and will be doing my 30-hours shift. I normally do not pay attention to the clocks around me. But today, while I was making my Colombian coffee with my coffee maker, I realized that the clock on my microwave and oven both showed 6:10AM. I started freaking out thinking I was late for my bus. However, I was pretty sure my alarm clock was 5:00AM a moment earlier. So, I took out my iPhone, and it showed 5:10AM. I checked on my analog clock, it was 6:10AM. My electronic alarm clock was 5:10AM. I thought I was going out of my mind, so i decided to go back to sleep, hoping that my hallucinations will go away...
Apparently, that did not happen.

Then I vaguely remembered something I heard like ages ago but never really experienced it before... DST!!!

So, what is DST?

DST, or Daylight saving time, is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less during spring/summer. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn. Starting in 2007, daylight time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time, which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time.

Not all places in the U.S. observe daylight time. In particular, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use it. Indiana adopted its use beginning in 2006. In 2006, daylight time begins on April 2 and ends on October 29. In 2007, daylight time begins on March 11 and ends on November 4 (New law went into effect). In 2008, daylight time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2. In 2009, daylight time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

Well, the practice of DST is pretty controversial. Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours, but causes problems for farming, entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun. Traffic fatalities are reduced when there is extra afternoon daylight; its effect on health and crime is less clear. Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting, formerly a primary use of electricity, modern heating and cooling usage patterns greatly differ and research about how DST currently affects energy use is limited and contradictory.

Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 by the English builder William Willett. Many countries have used it since then; details vary by location and change occasionally. Some countries have actually used it and then repealed it. I came across this interesting map which shows places(countries) currently using it(blue), places that have used it(orange), and places that never even started it(red). Thought it might be cool to share it with you guys:



Apparently, some of my newer devices have automatic DST adjusting functions. My cellphones and alarm clocks adjusted the clock to standard time when I was sleeping, while my analog clock, microwave and oven clock did not come with such capabilities. Well, what the heck, I am glad I did get an hour extra of sleep last night then... :) Sweeet!!!

Getting a car...

For years, I have been able to get myself around places with bicycles, trains, buses and planes. Sometimes, my friends will drive me around and to places I need to go to. Public transports, has never been a problem.... until now.
The United States is a F#%$k'n HUGE country, and here, public transport is not as good, and everybody has a car. Without a car, I am pretty much stuck with my sad little life with restricted access to places beyond the reach of public transportations. Though life has been good with couple of "volunteer drivers" that basically gave me rides to places I need to go, I started to be convinced that I need a car to survive in this city called Cleveland, especially when the weather is getting cold.
I have been browsing around for a good "wife" to spend my time with for the next 3-5 years, and have been to Mitsubishi, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Mustang, BMW dealers to get a perfect car for myself. It has been tough to find the right car with the right sense. Mitsubishi eclipse has a fancy "butt" and great in performance, but was not as exciting as Mazda RX-8. Honda and Toyotas are great cars with good gas mileages and great interiors but was not totally the car I would wanna drive right now. A dealer was trying to get me to buy his modified brand new mustang, with 7k rebate, but I am still considering if I could trust an American car. BMW has the sleek look, and of course its brand name, but not as sporty as others.
I realised I am more of a superficial, sports-car-kind-person, with no interest on luxury cars or SUV. Funny enough, I don't really care about the performance either. I told a girlfriend of mine, that as long as the car looks good, I am getting it. She gave me this funny look, with a simple remark: "You men are so superficial..." Ha ha. I apologize to those guys out there who aren't as superficial as I am, but hell ya, I am getting my car just base on the look.
Well, let me take that back. It is not TOTALLY about the look. I am not going for a 2 seater this time, so most of the roadsters are out from my lists. SLK 350, Lotus seems like fun car to get hold of, but very impractical. I am also looking into a cars that has the "basic" entertainment equipments like a port for my iPhone and iPod and a surround audio system. A moon-roof will be a plus. Guess I am not asking too much for such basic requirements.
For the time being, I am still swinging between getting a RX-8 or a BMW 328i sedan. Also thinking of eclipse or perhaps giving mustang a try. What do u think?

Mitsubishi Eclipse

Mazda RX-8

BMW 328i Sedan

Euclid Corridor - Healthline

Started my new rotation in the newborn nursery since a week ago. It has never been more rewarding than taking care of normal, healthy newborn babies and sharing the happiness and excitements of first time parenting. Not that I know much about being a parent and taking care of newborns myself, but due to my work requirement, I am going through a crash course of how to take care of newborn babies and being a responsible parent without having a baby of my own.

My work is mainly carried out in Hillcrest Hospital, which is pretty far from our main campus. Without a car, I am basically taking a horrible 1.5hrs ride to work everyday, except when Ian, my senior, is around and able to drive me there. Though work doesn't start until 7-8 ish, I need to wake up at 5am to catch my bus to work. It is a pain in the ass when I can actually sleep more during this lovely rotation, if only I have a car.

Though there is a bus that goes straight from my apartment to Hillcrest Hospital, the bus only runs full course during certain time of the day. Early in the morning, they only start somewhere near University Circle. I was to take another bus from my apartment and transit at University Circle. For this reason, I was able to use the Euclid Corridor or Healthline buses early in the Morning.

The Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA)'s HealthLine, commonly known as the Euclid Corridor, begins service from Public Square to the Stokes/Windermere station in East Cleveland, down a tree-lined boulevard dotted with sleek stations and public art. It connects Tower City (2 blocks from where I live) to University Circle -- two of the region's largest employment centers in 20 minutes. This line is supposed to connect Cleveland's cultural, educational, medical and business centers.

This project promotes environmental "Green"-ness, from the 1,500 trees planted on Euclid Avenue to the bike lanes and the hybrid-electric vehicles powered by clean diesel engines and electric transmissions. The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority renamed the Euclid Corridor the HealthLine after the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals agreed to pay $6.25 million over 25 years for naming rights. That led RTA to claim the line would "pump new life" into Cleveland's economy and be the "rebirth of Euclid Avenue."

Below are some photos on the health-line:-

Back to life, back to reality

光阴似箭，转眼间又是过了好几个月。
记得才几个月前，我结束了日本近十年的生活，在大马呆了一个月半，独自跑到这人地生疏的Cleveland来“打工”。刚来的前几个月，还真的吃了不少的苦头。总算本人“命大”--挨过了一时期的“无家可归”的日子。此时此日，我可以说是终于安定了下来。
上个月，应了老友的结婚大日子之邀，特地借此机会回老家走一趟。当然这不菲的旅费还是得自掏腰包的。哀哉！飞回家一趟的旅费可是几乎我一个月的薪水。付了钱还得挨超过30多个小时的旅程（单程），这可真的是叫花钱自虐！还好坐的还是Business Class，要不然还有的受呢！


待续。。。

后记:老友阿鲁鲁的结婚仪式办的很成功。我为这新婚夫妇感到高兴。阿鲁鲁结婚晚宴Slide Show播放的歌，竟然是我最喜爱的I'm yours。真是太好了！

My apartment photos

Cleveland Clinic... at last!

Having to move to a new city all by yourself, knowing nobody, and starting from scratch is pretty much challenging. It is not always fun. All these years of moving from one place to the other has sort of given me an idea of how to adapt and survive, but as you start to have too much of it, it kinda got ugly. Moving to the states was nothing like coming here for vacation. Well, with all my networks in the east coast and west coast, it could have been better.

Cleveland is not so much of a happening place to be when you are stuck with public transports. You could move around with buses, but probably not the time you want it to be. I checked-in at the Intercontinental at Cleveland Clinic the first 2 days in town. Things was pretty good when you have a 5-star hotel, and the working place is just a minute walk away. The Clinic is like a huge city by itself, and with the new fountains and constructions being done, it shall be pretty awesome.

Well, things turned ugly when I realised that I couldn't find myself a nice apartment and I started to live a life of a nomad. I was lucky enough to got myself connected to 2 Malaysian residents and was crashing at their living room for 5 days. Things went pretty well, and I got myself a temporary place not too far from the Clinic. The apartments downtown looked promising and I decided to move there when it is vacant in August.

My fellow Malaysians brought me around town. We had great fun checking out restaurants and gelato shops. There was a parade at the University Square, not too far from the Clinic during the weekend, and it was a blast. My orientation starts on Monday, where we had this gathering with the residents and the new interns. It was the first time I got to know my fellow colleagues. There were 15 in my pediatric residency alone, and I was the only one doing the 5 year child neurology program here at the clinic. I was happy to know they are such friendly lots. Well, it is always safe when you are in pediatrics. You hardly get the nasty people there.

Tuesday was the Epicare training, where we were briefed about the electronic charts. It was a pretty long day, but I had fun getting to know my fellow colleagues better. Wednesday came with a long day of getting our documents settled, and a long lists of speeches from various departments. There were like probably hundreds of new interns and fellows in the room. It was hard to know who is who by then. We had a small party in the evening, and the crazy trainings started the day after.

Thursday was the BLS training, and we got some pediatrics procedures training in the afternoon. Friday was our ACLS training. After my ACLS, I was being toured around by a Japanese lady I met at the clinic, and then met up with another Brazilian friend I met during the parade. We decided to explore the night scenes in downtown. There was a party going on in downtown that Friday, and I guess everybody was out, because the whole street was packed with young people, drinking and shouting.

All the clubs and bars were packed. My friend Gustavo and I managed to squeeze into one of the bars call sushi rock, which is famous for their sushi. We decided to get a tequila shot, a kirin-ichiban, and couple of cocktails. The crowd was pretty crazy there, and Lisa the bartender was kind enough to entertain us while complaining how crazy the place was. There were like 4 bartenders on the job, but still overwhelmed by the crowd. We were glad that Lisa was very attentive to our needs.

Couple of booze got us pretty much all set for the party. We hopped to the other club, and started going from one floor to the other until we reached the rooftop. And again it was packed with youngsters coming out to party. It was awesome. That actually got me feel a bit more at ease, and was happier than before. Well, at least there are still parties here in Cleveland. We ended up pretty drunk that night.

Saturday was a nice day to start of with. No work. No ACLS training. I went to downtown to check on my apartments, and later visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later in the afternoon, my Brazilian buddy called me and invited me to a Brazilian party in one of the apartments downtown. I ended up drinking and eating non-stop again. The party was nice, I get to know a whole bunch of brazilians in town and a few other foreigners. At least my circles of friends are expanding everyday.

Sunday was pretty much a lay-back day for me. I went downtown to use the internet, and later meet up with a friend to attend an independent film screening kinda thing. It was fun meeting up with producers and actors in the area, and get to know about the films being produced here. I got a few remarks from some people that I look like Jet Li. Well, this is not the first time I heard of such, but I haven't quite figured out where they find the resemblance from... :P

我不是归人，是个过客

光阴似箭，转眼间又是一个月过去了。看着乘机之日一天一天的接近，心头真是万分的感慨。好不容易拿了一个月的假期，和久违的家人，亲朋戚友才见了面，有得向大家挥挥手说再见了。这里毕竟是我的家，也是我扎根之地。但是自从20代开始，这个家也只成为一个歇脚之地。老爸常打趣地引用了郑愁予的《错误》，说我只是个过客：

我打江南走过
那等在季节里的容颜如莲花的开落
东风不来，三月的柳絮不飞
你的心如小小的寂寞的城
恰若青石的街道向晚
跫音不响，三月的窗扉紧掩
我达达的马蹄是美丽的错误
我不是归人，是个过客……

的确，这也许是个美丽的错误；我不是归人，是个过客......

漫游曼谷慢慢儿走

曼谷 -- 一向来都对这个城市怀有偏见。小时候，家乡的堂哥们说起泰国来，就是满口都是“叫鸡叫鸭”的；当时的概念就是一到泰国，身价大跌。所谓的叫鸡叫鸭呢，就是“红灯区”“性生意”般--当时年纪还小的我，更是意义朦胧模糊，是不可去的禁区。

五年前曾经回家途中转机时路过此地，被他破陋的机场，复杂又肮脏的市中心给吓坏了。当时有个日本留学时认识的好友带路，除了走遍当地的佛庙和旅游胜地之外，还到了地地道道的红灯区去大开眼界。那地方更是花市灯如昼，街边站满了拉客的小姐和先生，还能说口流利的日语。好色的老外和日本人比比皆是，看来真是个性旅行的圣地。当时曼谷更是经济大风暴之后不久，当地经济萧条，人民生活水平比大马逊色蛮多的。所以当时的我对曼谷的印象并没那么好。

近几年来，很多国里国外的好友到曼谷去游玩回来后，大赞当地好玩。曼谷也变成很多人的购物天堂。我也不时给这帮朋友洗了脑。干吗每个人都说那么好玩，我心里在想，难道当时我没去到特好玩的地方去吗？在开始工作的同时，我也不时听到曼谷的国际医院的新闻和报道。对当地搞国际医院的决心很有兴趣。渐渐地，漫游曼谷也成为一个愿望了。

本来这次回国，也没有特别计划到外国游玩。刚好天时地利人和之故，让我又能重游曼谷。

五年不见的曼谷，可谓日新月异：新机场，新高楼，新购物广场，新市内捷运。但是当年的佛庙仍然风光依旧，在高楼林立之中，竟然是那么的显眼。捷运更是四通八达，这攀天捷运道之下，还有个广阔的路上行人道，也不必过马路，可以从一个建筑物跑到另一个建筑物去，还真方便的。大马也有捷运，可是并不是太方便，更没有四通八达的行人道。我想这方面大马可要向他们学习的了。

当然这突飞猛进的变化中，人民的生活是否有了改善，这可是见仁见智的了。当年的小贩们依然作着原本的生意，街边还摆着小小的摊子，红灯区更是花与灯依旧，路边叫卖的，除了日语，英文之外，还会中文和韩文。可见他们也跟着时代的步伐，也随之改变。

我也不忘了本行，还特地打的到曼谷的国际医院去。曼谷有两个蛮出名的国际医院：一个是 Bumrungrad Hospoital （之前Frienster的Blog中曾经提过）；另一个是 Bangkok Hospital也就是本来的Bangkok General Hospital。医院里的设计果然名不虚传－－是五星级酒店般的漂亮，有各种五星级的服务。大门里门外有服务特别好的服务员，帮忙那些需要帮忙的来客。医院里头还有为日本，中国，东南亚，英美欧，和中东国家人民提供的服务台，十分周到。医院的一个角落，还帮忙病人提供签证服务的服务台。哇塞！我想这两个医院可称国际型医院（World Class Hospitals）有过之而无不及。

也因此，我想曼谷的开放和进步其实还有我们大马学习的地方。同时，我也会鼓励大家，要是有余裕的时间和金钱，也不妨到曼谷来走走。也许你也可以得到些启发和新的见识。

“相亲”相爱？— お見合い？？！！

Turning 30 and being single is not a crime. It is a disaster.

This trip back home comes with lots of expectations from my old folks: marriage, having a family and breeding. Like many Chinese parents, my parents are 'obligated' to secure a great family and make sure I give birth to dozens of piglets, after having a good career.

It was a friday morning when I was trying to get some good sleep after a whole night out clubbing, my mom was chasing me out of bed because we were supposed to attend a lunch invitation from her old friend. From the very beginning I smell something fishy about the whole idea. First, she normally would rather I get more sleep. Secondly, she acted weirdly when I said I would skip the lunch thingy. So, decided not to disappoint her, I gave in and followed her to the lunch date at one of the business building owned by her friend.

Attending the lunch with us was my little brother, who happens to work for this big company. We were invited to the penthouse on the top floor of the building. Came along with her friend was her children, a son who is also working in that company, and a daughter who happens to work nearby. A very friendly lots. Though my mom insisted that she plays no part of setting up the meeting, I can tell she knew it all along. OK, setting me up with girls, man, are you still in the 50s??!! I thought to myself.

But I was glad to be there. As I spent most of my life with my own circles of friends, it is great to know some from my parents. I did not know my mom used to have such close friends and hearing stories from them actually gave me a chance to know my mom better. The kids are really sweet people. Though coming from a rich family, they were not the snobby nor pretentious type. Had a great time eating Tiewchew porriage. I went to meet a friend to catch up, and then meet up with mom and dad for a dinner with my dad's friends. Then I was off to clubs, as it was a Friday night...

I used to laugh at people going for set-up dates, or Omi-ai in Japanese. Never thought I would one day try such myself. It was a great experience, but I would rather D.I.Y. Well, it doesn't hurt to try new stuffs. Just hope my mom isn't encouraged to do more of these. LOL.

Don't be too CNN

On my way back from sapporo to KL... I have been trying to follow the news on the Beijing Olympic Torch relay wherever I go. Never thought I turned out to be such a big Olympic fan!! Well, I don't really have a choice -- it is like the next big news after the United States' presidential primaries!

As I travel to different parts of the world, I realised how media coverages are so very different in different parts of the world. Take the Iraq war for instance, CNN, FOX, BBC, NHK, Al-Jazeera and HK Phoenix had different news coverage, having CNN & FOX being so polarized towards one end and Al-Jazeera at the other. BBC is slightly better than both CNN and FOX. The same incident could be interpreted into two different situations. NHK would basically be doing similiar coverage as the United States as they share the same sources eventually. I do like HK phoenix alot as it has broader coverage, and a more objective view on international issues. I was impressed that they have their own crews on the ground doing the news coverage.

The torch relay received so much attention due to the vast coverage on the protests by the Tibet exile group that tries to sabotage it. It is amazing that everything seemed to be falling into place, first the riot then the protests, as if all these are masterminded. The news actually came out not showing the torch relay itself but the protests. I guess people are still more interested in the protests than the torch. Who cares about Olympic Games anyways.

I was in my Japanese host family house when the news about the protests was on TV every 2 hours. My host mother was pretty upset about the Chinese Government for the Tibet issues and the destroying of the residential areas to make way for the Olympic games. China to her, has a very, very negative image, to my surprise. And even the most educated person in Japan could easily share the same view. I, myself, being able to access good and bad news from all Chinese, Hongkong, Taiwan, Japanese and Western media, was worried that how badly she is influenced by the media. It seems that she only got the bad portion of the pie and never really got the other part of the story. Man, how media can actually mold ones mind in the 21st century!!

News are for you to judge and not to believe.

Sometimes, it is very hard for one to know the truth as media these days aren't so reliable. I came across this web the other day: http://www.anti-cnn.com/ and it was a site made by some Chinese netizens revealing some renowned international media actually distorting news by using old or fake photos. That actually disgusts me very much: media, being a voice of the people, has actually became so corrupted.

As the media sees a weaning in the coverage of anti-Chinese protests, there was an increase in the news of the french-boycott and pro-China rallies in the media. Not to my surprise, it only gets attention in Asian media, only very few done in BBC and none in CNN.

I also came across this really funny song done by an amateur singer, called "Don't be to CNN". It is part of the ant-CNN campaign which is gaining support from Chinese around the globe. Recently "Don't be too CNN" became a common sentence in China, especially among millions of young people.



Well, my advice would be, never trust the media. At least, don't trust just one. I think the only way to seek truth is to go through different sources, so we are never blinded by just one. :)

Okay, enough of my serious talk. Any one wants party this weekend??! :)

Back... it's great to be back again...

Wow... its been almost a month that I was on the road... traveling with my only belongings. Well, almost all :) Haven't been doing such long crazy travel, not since I started work.

I started my journey from sapporo, stop over at Sendai, and then ended up in Tokyo, venturing through places I have once called home. It was awesome meeting with mates I haven't seen for a while. The old faces brought old memories, lots to laugh about, and lots to be proud of. Of course it could be very taxing, with parties, parties and parties, and of course more parties to go to.

Tokyo changed a lot compare to when I was last here. Lots of nicer unique buildings, and lots of nicer condominiums. If it was like 10 years ago, I would never want to stay at any of the condominiums there. But now, it is a totally different story. :)
Managed to catch sakura during my way back. Did not get a lot of hanami done, but was glad that the timing was just right.

Took business class flight on United Airlines to Singapore, and had lotsa champagne on the way back. I might sound like an alcoholic, but trust me, I am not. Just happened that every time I try to clear my glass, the flight attendant just would not stop refilling. It was bad enough that I had couple of wine in the business lounge before getting on the plane. Save me from the liquors.. anyone?!! LOL

Singapore was my first stop in South East Asia. Everything smells, sounds, looks, and feels so familiar. Even the hot dirty air there just felt so good. LOL. A feel of being home, though not quite yet. Darren was kind enough to offer his apartment for my stay. I inhabited his newly renovated apartment, and nearly turned the place upside down. Had a really great time and of course, why miss the party when you are already there??!!! Went for another weekend spin, hopping from one club to the other.

Since I had a big luggage (that I haven't used for 9 years) of my only possessions, I decided to take a train instead of plane/bus back to K.L.
The train of course was late (Malaysian time - 時差無いのに?), and took me like 10 hours to get home. It just amazed me how slow a train can run. Man, never thought KTM could be so cacat. I would definitely take a plane next time. Let it be Air Asia and I won't mind.

Besides having to fill up my applications for my residency in the states, I was finally down with fever. Must be the endless parties and sleep deprivation. But I guess my body could tell, it is the best place to be sick -- home.