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.

2年ぶりの仙台へ

光陰流水、二年間の臨床初期研修生活は「あっ」というまに終わっちゃいました。北海道での生活はほぼ“病院→家→病院→家→すすきの→家→病院→家”のように過ごして、単純な生活でした。残念ながら、北海道の観光はほとんどできず、スキーは一回もしなかったまま、この雪国から去っていっちゃいます。振り返ってみると、この二年間で、様々なすばらしい人たちと出会え、そして仲良くなり、確かに恵まれた環境でしたね。すすきののクラブは行きまくってしまって、クラブの職人まで知り合いになりました。（注：クラブ＝Dance Club;　キャバクラではNOT! )これからこの暖かくしてくれた職場から離れ、未知の世界に飛び、ちょっと不安でもあります・・・（汗）。
この二年間支えてくれた同期たち、そして甘くしてくれた先輩たちに、本当にありがとうと思います。

4月2日に札幌を離れ、苫小牧からフェーリーに乗って、二年ぶりの仙台に戻る予定です。
4月3日に母校（東北大学）の後輩たちに北米の卒後臨床研修の説明会みたいなイベントあり、ちょっとどきどきします。いや、いつの間にか仕事増えたな～！（笑）

2年ぶりの仙台、6年間一緒に過ごした仲間たちと会うのを楽しみにしています！！

San Francisco revisited

Finally the my exams are over.
I felt the sense of relief, but at the same time, was not very happy with my performance. Well, I can blame no one for that, I was hardly even prepared for it. February has been busy than ever. Besides having visits from family and friends, I was doing a neurosurgical rotation, with much of time spent in the OR. There were lots of farewell parties, meeting-ups, and events that packed my schedule for the whole month. I wasn't able to even study for the exam; writing a blog was totally out of the question.
The last week of the rotation was spent in Hokkaido University Hospital, an affliated hospital of an Imperial University nearby. Though there were lots of red tape in such instutites, I was welcomed with opened-arms. It was a great experience getting to know the various other surgeries done there, and the interesting people working there. I had a great time.
Though my career was sort of decided by now, I still get lots of friendly invitations to join the neurosurgical team from various famous surgeons, and it has been hard to resists.
My step 3 exam was taken place in San Francisco, a city in the west coast of the U.S.A. It was my second visit; the first visit was 2 years ago, when Daisuke was doing his one year study vacation over there and I decided to stop over after my visit to UPMC and Boston.
It was great going to a city that felt familiar from the start. The weather was awesome during my visit, pretty unusual for a place famous for its rainny and foggy winter. Though my exams were complicated by the computer break-down, lost of my registration form, and the terrible jet-lag, I am glad to have a much enjoying experience outside the long hours of computer-based exams.
Chinatown, Coit tower, Fisherman's Warf, Ghirardelli Square, Golden gate park etc. were awesome, and I was glad to be back again. The openess of the city could be seen in how people from all skin colors actually integrated into the society, with hispanics and asians working from top executives to blue collars. I heard that the Police Chief is a Chinese woman. This is sort of different from the east coast, since the society is more segregated and you don't get alot of great different mixture of ethnics in one place the same time.
San Francisco - though this visit was brief, I came to love the place, and perhaps, it shall be another city worth more revisiting.

过一个好年

正月初一头一天，家家户户过新年...
农历新年又到来了！
自从来到了日本后，农历新年也不过是普通的一天。没有新年假，没有新年歌，没年糕吃，没红包拿。搞不好更是大考之时，哪儿来的庆祝呢？来日之后，过农历新年，已经变成了一种难得的奢侈。
说来也挺凄惨的，日本自从明治维新，脱亚入欧后，明治政府决定从阴历变阳历，最后也干脆把新年也改为阳历一月一日。农历新年，就只有受中国文化影响深刻的冲绳岛老百姓坚持保留了下来。也因为没有农历新年的观念，阳历2月除了2月14日的情人节之外，便是大学年终考试的时期。6年的日本大学生活中，几乎每一次年初一都刚好有考试，除夕晚和几个马来西亚的朋友随便搞一搞“爬地”，然后冲冲忙忙地赶回家“抱佛脚”。书读不完时，也干脆不庆祝，在家里吭书。呜呼，哀哉！
去年虽然没大考，却得工作，今年也一样没有年假。但是，今年可不同了 —— 家中老爸老妈心血来潮，特地从老远的马来西亚来到这冰天雪地的北海道来过年。真高兴！华人新年讲究团圆。年除夕吃团圆饭，意义深远。像我这长年在外地生活的单身汉，最是体会到团圆饭的温馨和快乐。虽然当天手术搞到很迟才结束（本来还以为更本回不了家的...），回到家时大家都吃饱了，但是还是很高兴能够跟家人便吃边谈，热热闹闹。
光阴似箭，转眼间一个星期过去了。阿弟，老爸，老妈，还有爸妈的两个朋友在北海道受够了寒风雪舞，吃过了山珍海味，成吉思汉烤羊肉，寿司等，看过了冰雕，还过了年。还算这趟没白走。
前天手术晚上10点多才结束。昨天临晨4时左右大家都准备好行李，到机场去。
看着身材高大却又任性的阿弟，和年纪渐老，步行蹒跚的爸妈走入了安全检查站，心中有些依依不舍。
爸妈，阿弟，希望你们一路顺风，多多保重！
新年的同时，也不忘记向大家拜个年： 新年快乐，万事如意！

Cleveland Clinic ― the next global brand?

As the world is getting more globalized, what we see is the creation of global brands: When we talk about burgers, we think of McDs, Burger Kings; cars - GM, BMW, Toyota; computers - IBM (Lenovo), Apple; shoes - Nike, Reebok, Addidas, Manolo Blahnik; iPod, Nokia, Motorola, Sony, Samsung, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Bulgari, Hermes et al, from everyday food to accessories, games software to high end fashions, we go for brands.
The same tendency is developing among services like higher education and healthcare. We talk about well-known schools like Harvard, Oxford or Qinghua... and worship them. Nowadays, healthcare is getting globalized as well. Harvard Medical International is aggressively expanding their brand outside the United States. John Hopkins has a center in Singapore (Johns Hopkins Singapore International Medical Centre), and recently had some affiliation with a Japanese Clinic. Cleveland Clinic has centers in Florida, Toronto, Canada, and will be opening the Abu Dhabi center in 2010. The current CEO and President of the Clinic, Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, M.D., recently indicated plans to expand into other markets abroad including Austria and Singapore (wikipedia). I came across this article, stating that Cleveland Clinic is considering building a center in Shanghai. (read the links 1 2 3 )
If that became true, it would be awesome.
In the very near future, I believe that there will be international brands of hospitals that will lead the healthcare service of the world, providing standardized, high quality medical services to the people. By then, you will start hearing people bragging about going to high end 'branded' hospitals. Hopefully, that will bring a new landscape to our world's healthcare system...