THE LAW OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK...

i took this one from a mailing list. i guess most of those who stop by here subscribe to the same ML but just in case u don't and have never heard of this, well, it's a cool read :)

it's exactly what islam teaches us only phrased and labelled differently.

Beware of Garbage Trucks

by David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood?

Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels.

However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly he/she can get back her focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.

So, I said, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you.

When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

So this was it: The 'Law of the Garbage Truck.'

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets?

It was that day I said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.' I began to see garbage trucks.I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off.

And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.

Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Teachers and parents know that they have to be fully present and at their best for the people they care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet. You'll be happier.

So.. Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe that everything happens for a reason.

If you get a chance , TAKE IT! If it changes your life , LET IT! Nobody said it would be easy... They just promised it would be worth it!

open houses galore

i'm in my 1st week of orthopaedics. my supervisor is Mr Shukrimi. they say he's a very cool guy. that would be very interesting. hope i get to learn a lot. i very nearly had Mr K for my supervisor but i guess the lecturers wanted to make a difference this time so i got Mr Shuk instead.

yesterday was a holiday for the state of Pahang because it was the sultan's birthday.

so a lot of people took the oppurtunity to do open houses. i had 3 invitations plus 2 self-given invitations.

i went to makcik Gini's house with my halaqah mates in the afternoon and then Dr Rafidah invited us to her house which was just nearby. because it was already late, we didn't go to kak Azi's house. after that, me n my posting mates went to Dr Aznan's house. He was the course coordiantor for our previous family medicine posting. then, we invited ourselves to Chua's house to see her baby. Hannah's very cute and montel. she looks just like her mommy. her mother-in-law was there and made mee goreng for us. terpaksa lah makan. then, i had a brief meeting about a jamuan raya to be held this sunday followed by a short discussion on the anatomy of the spine.

good thing i read a bit last night so i actually had a rough idea of what Dr Zam was talking about in class this morning. it was truly amazing that i was not sleepy at all during the lecture. both on monday and tuesday i was commented by Mr Hafiz and Mr Amin for dozing off in class. malu dah, so i had to do something about it. alhamdulillah i managed to sahur with a cup of nescafe this morning thus my alertness. terpaksa lah tahan the diuresis and increased motility that come with the caffein.

i was told by my friends who did ortho in their previous posting that Mr Zam was very garang and was intolerant to latecomers. i was on my best behaviour. i think the doctor is quite nice and he gave quite a good lecture.

i guess there is something in the advice that people always give about preparing before class. if u actually do it, you'll understand a lot better during class. hehe, baru sekarang nak sedar and insaf. better late than never. hopefully, i'll get the time to prepare beforehand in future.

in class today i decided that i want to work to get a distinction for this posting. although it seems as unlikely and wishful thinking and ambitious for an average student like me, you just never know your rizq. it might come in any form. at least, if i don't get distinction, i'll pass. a pass is good enuf to make me eligible for electives insyaAllah.

with my classmates at Dr Aznan's house

at Dr Rafidah's place

i miss my nephews and nieces !!!

nawaz, showing off his 2 front upper teeth

bulat mata ayyasy

aisyah with her atuk

p.s. i just came back from the ward. the orthopaedic ward smells just like the surgical wards do; the same mixture of pus, blood and fluid discharge from wounds plus body odour of those who have went on for days, perhaps even weeks without a proper bath. i'll just have to get used to it i guess.

babysitting nawaz

it's late already but i wanna write a few lines.

i am now at kak yung's place. the rest of my family have gone back to where they currently belong. it feels awfully quiet with most of them gone cause we're a loud bunch when everyone gets together. I'm going back tomorrow so I'm still savoring the last few hours of my wonderful break before i begin my supposedly hectic orthopaedics posting.

kak yung has always told me how hyperactive nawaz is and how exhausted she is at the end of the day just by taking care of the little munchkin. i was like, yeah, yeah, of course, you're a mommy.

after babysitting him for barely 4 hours, i was swamped and absolutely relieved when he fell asleep. i now have a renewed and deepened respect for mommies.

nawaz was running all about the house, poking about practically everything and spilling the instant soup i made all over his pajamas. alhamdulillah, it wasn't too hot or he would have been scalded. just as i cleaned up the mess and changed his clothes, he pooped a whole nappy full. memang tak boleh buat kerja lain. jangan harap la nak baca buku or even go online when he's awake. u have to be constantly watching him lest he gets into any mischief. i made his milk and thought that he'd go to sleep. alas, as soon as the milk finished, he was up again and running about actively. he kept turning the tv on and off and poking about the wires that were around the tv. i had to endure 3 rounds of Nawaz's nasyid cd. he also likes to go to the shoe rack and play with the shoes. i get by exhausted just watching him being busy as a bee.

yang paling tak larat is whenever he senses that he's going to get a scolding, he smiles his heart-melting smile, baring his 4 front teeth which of course makes it hard for people to continue being mad with him. infants are very cunning tricksters i tell ya, don't be fooled.

Forensics at HTAR

I'm at home in JB. Ayah and mak came to KL yesterday because ayah had to give a lecture so they picked me up from kak yung's house. it's been a month since the last time i was at home.

Last week, i had to my forensics posting at Hospital tengku Ampuan Rahmah, Klang. Why did i choose Klang? Because 1) Hosp Tun Aminah in JB was not among the options, 2) i wanted to stay at kak yung's place in shah alam and all my shah alam friends chose klang.

in the end, kak yung couldn't send me every morning to the hospital because of the terrible morning traffic jams and i had to request to stay at the hospital hostel. my friend, fatimah whose house is in bangi also had to stay at the hostel. so, on sunday afternoon, kak yung sent me to the hostel. the room was tolerable and in a fair condition but i figured pak andak's house would certainly be better (pak andak is ayah's older brother). ayah was the one who didn't want to contact pak andak earlier otherwise i didn't have to request for the hostel in the firts place.

mak andak was very warm and welcoming. she said that my friend could stay there as well. it was an offer i found very hard to refuse. what with sahur and iftar being no more of a concern with comfortable lodgings and clean toilets, i was so staying at my uncle's.

pak andak sent me to the Forensics Department every morning. on the first day, we went out especially early as i didn't want to be late. however the doctor was a bit late. the forensics pathologist in charge is Dr Khairul Azman.

there was no deaths requiring post mortems on Monday so the doctor called us into his office and asked us about ourselves. apparently he's into religious studies and he talked a lot on that.

the next day, there were 2 cases. the first guy, a 40 year old malay man, died after being struck to the head by a 1-tonne container. the 2nd guy, a 60 year old indian man was involved in a hit and run in front of his house. we observed the medical officer do the post mortem and filled in the details in our logbooks. we just needed 2 cases but we still had to complete five days of the posting.

on wednesday and thursday there were no cases much to our dismay. it's not that we wanted people to die but we wanted to learn whilst we had the opportunity to do it. instead, the dr khairul discussed with us salient points in forensics and also previous cases that he used to handle. agak menarik jugak the cases. he was quite happy that we could answer a lot of his questions :)

and on friday there were 3 cases. first case, a 38 year old chinese man complained of chest pain and went to a GP. an ECG was done which revealed some ischaemic changes. he died after a few minutes. the second case, a 42 year old indian lady, non-smoker, non-alcoholic complained of shortness of breath and went to a GP. she died shortly after that. the third case was of an indonesian baby boy who was delivered at home and died at birth. the baby was in a breach position at labour.

after the post mortem was done, the first guy was found to have a myocardial infarction of the left anterior descending artery with pulmonary oedema. the 2nd lady was found to have a thrombus in her left ventricle obstructing the mitral valve. her liver also showed chronic venous congestion. she also had pulmonary oedema. the last case, the baby boy, was confirmed to be a fresh stillbirth. his scrotum was swollen indicating that they came out first. otherwise, the lungs had not yet expanded.

observing all 5 post mortems was a new experience. it may seem to be mean and cruel but it has to be done to determine the cause of death. the extent of what needs to be cut open depends on the history of the patient. the doctor decides which procedure is necessary. if someone was hit on the head, than just opening up the skull is required etc. alhamdulillah, there were no decomposed bodies. i don't think my nose could stand the stench.

it's important for a medical officer to know how to perform a post-mortem because when they are posted to the district areas they'll have to do it themselves. menakutkan. the medical assistants were very skilled. the medical officer merely gave instructions and observed him do most of the cutting.

may Allah give me the courage and confidence to do a post mortem when i have to do it in future.

at the waiting area of the Forensics Department

case discussions with the wonderful and nice dr khairul

with some of the staff

all set to observe the postmortem being done

with my nieces, Zulaikha and Zahidah and nephew, Danish