London

The weekend was pretty much what I had expected it to be – a little bit of exploring bits of London by myself interspersed with the odd coffee or meal when hanging out with friends. Surprisingly, the course I attended was actually better than expected; i.e. I did not fall asleep and actually participated in various discussions on highlighted topics.

The best physical bit was probably the food I stuffed myself with – from the compulsory Krispy Kreme doughnuts to a visit to Wagamama to a peanut butter milkshake to the variety of Malaysian food that I found myself gorging on e.g. nasi lemak, nasi ayam, kangkung masak belacan (in Gold Mine, Chinese M’sian restaurant in Bayswater that Ilyaas took myself, Yusra and a couple of his mates to) and char kuey teow (in another Chinese M’sian restaurant called Melati, which I came across whilst wondering aimlessly in central London). Was I sated? Most definitely.

Also spent a small fortune at various shops, since it was during the last days of the summer sale. Did more window shopping than actual purchasing (thankfully), although I’m quite satisfied with a pair of shoes I purchased for a rather reasonable price. Also took the opportunity to purchase the customary tins of biscuits and tea from Harrods for the folks back home.

When I had actually arrived into London, I suddenly realised that I wouldn’t be able to visit all the places that I had wanted to initially. Gone were the opportunities to catch a performance during The Proms, or a musical or a show at the Globe. But it was more than compensated for by the company I had, which consisted of individuals I have not been able to meet up with for quite some time.

One of them, Jaja, accompanied me to the Bodies exhibition over at Earl’s Court. It was actually done in a relatively tasteful manner, and we came away thinking that anatomy back in university would’ve been so much better and more interesting if we had such specimens to play around with. Of course the exhibition highlighted the amount of anatomy I had actually forgotten, although Jaja was pretty excited as the whole ‘over-riding aortic arch in Fallot’s tetralogy’ suddenly made sense to her after looking at a specimen of a heart. Yes, we were 2 geeks excitedly pointing various specimens to each other.

So now I’m back in boring old Carlisle where part of me just wants to have a cuppa with some doughnuts and watch the world go by. The more rational bit of me is quite terrified at the prospect of starting F2 in a couple of days in Cardiology. Especially after 3 months of orthopaedics have served to slice a couple of dozen IQ points off my total score. That, along with the combination of new F1s, is not something to look forward to. Here’s hoping we don’t screw things up too badly.

Is this the prize I've waited for?

Having not blogged for a week or so, I return to find the comments box below to be filled with comments from God knows where. Somehow I feel like I’ve neglected my garden for a week, only to return and find weed growing in the unlikeliest places. And not the good kind of weed, mind you.

It’s been a rather topsy-turvy week. M’sia appears to be heading ever closer to ethnic unrest. My prediction sometime ago about a repeat of May 13 1969 in our lifetime seems a bit optimistic. At the moment, I’d be damn surprised if it doesn’t recur before that golden year of 2020. As it is, half of my non-Muslim friends are wanting to emigrate if they have the means.

The Article 11 forum will be effectively shut down with the intervention of Pak Lah, who is basically stuck in the middle. If he were to have allowed the forum to continue, he would have lost support from his Malay electorate. By halting all public discussion on matters deemed sensitive to racial dynamics, he has alienated a number of non-Malays though. With no outlet to vent their frustrations or for differences to be settled in a rational & pragmatic matter, what will occur next? You only have to read online blogs and electronic newspapers to come across racists and frustrated comments from readers and this unfortunately, is only the tip of the iceberg.

The main issue at the moment revolves around apostasy – which is prohibited in Islam. Under Islamic rules, one who commits apostasy should be condemned to death. So we have this lady in Msia who cleverly declares to the courts that although she was born and bred a Muslim, she never actually practised the religion and would like the court to change her religion from that of being a Muslim to that of the one she chooses.

Non-Muslims declare that it is her right to choose her religion. Muslims declare that it is against Islamic principles and by the way, if you’re not Muslim, don’t interfere in our religion.

Questions that arise:

1. Who constitutes a Muslim? Is an official declaration of one’s Muslimhood sufficient even if the person does not practise the 5 basic principles of Islam or has not been brought up with it?
2. Is the case to be discussed by the civil or syariah court? If she’s not a Muslim, does it not mean that the syariah court has no jurisdiction over her? And the civil court has no authority to rule on religious matters, unless changes are made and further erosions of the secular principles are put in place.
3. If it is decided that she is not allowed to change her religion, what then? Are you going to be happy with someone who is being forced to live a lie? And if she’s condemned to death for insisting on leaving Islam, does that mean that Malaysia will effectively be placed under syariah law? Where do you draw the line? If you’re going to punish apostates, then you can’t be expected to leave other bits out can you?
4. How are we to have a proper discussion if any movement whatsoever to the middle ground is deemed as giving in and not upholding the principles of Islam by a fair number of Muslims?

Hell, I don’t envy the position that the powers that be are in at the moment. It’s not easy providing a solution, but at the end of the day, the only way forward would be a level of compromise by both parties.

And that’s only in M’sia. Lebanon is having its economy fucked up by the Israelis, who didn’t stop from bombing a UN shelter either. A meeting in Rome a couple of weeks later by the big shots have produced an excellent statement of nothing. India is getting nuclear know-how from the States, and somehow the Bush government will have you believe that this will decrease nuclear proliferation. Cue the next nuclear arms race in South Asia.

On a personal note, family’s not doing too well especially with mum having had a cancer scare. It was a rather awful couple of weeks, but she’s feeling much better post-op at the moment and is recuperating at home. It was rather weird talking to my mum about her condition in my role as a doctor, but it was also rather depressing that I was unable to do much more than call her and talk to her.

All the issues that have turned up to put a spanner in my plans are annoying at the least and quite depressing and headache-inducing at its worst. Work has been ok in general, although I did tell off an individual for not moving his/her arse fast enough when we were dealing with a patient with a Potassium of 7 , Urea of 70 and Creatinine of 2250 (for the non-medics, it’s one of the indications to go ‘Fuck!’ and promptly instigate emergency treatment measures). Probably not as bad as Sweetie’s work though; the poor dear has had to work up ‘till 6 in the morning at times to help complete her company’s projects.

Seeing that I’ll be (horror of horrors) starting medical F2 next week, I’ve decided to take an easy weekend. This is following an easy last weekend, which consisted of yet another well-organised BBQ by Yus (with more than the usual gang present), chasing cats and layaning Fadh in her last weekend in the UK (including endless coffees and completing Park Chan-Wook's revenge trilogy). This weekend, I’ll go down to the capital. Might meet a couple of peeps, but will take the opportunity to complete a few tasks and visit a couple of places nobody else will be keen on going to (e.g. the Victoria & Albert Museum). Might as well enjoy what this world’s got to offer before it blows itself up.

Scary Movie

Looking at the reactions of the western powers and the UN, one would think that they dare not intervene and stop the atrocity that's being conducted in a ruthlessly efficient manner by the military forces of Israel. It would appear that the abduction of 2 Israeli soldiers justifies an all-out attack on Lebanon, with the rationale being that the country harbours and supports Hizbollah terrorists.

By this definition, Thatcher should have bombed Belfast during the height of the war with the IRA.

I do not condone terrorism, especially that of a religious nature as I totally abhor extremism of any kind. And this includes the over-the-top reaction of the Israeli goverment that has so far killed at least 100 civilians, including children. This is not an isolated incident - a few weeks ago, a beach was bombed by an Israeli warship, killing familes while they were picnicking. Tel Aviv denied any involvement, although medical and UN officers, along with journalists provided conclusive evidence that the shrapnels were of Israeli origin. Of course, it's all forgotten now. And western media appears to be selective in their broadcasts, although the Europeans tend to perform better, as this blog will tell you.

Hizbollah, as opposed to Hamas, at least targets the military. I mean, in a war, soldiers participate knowing the risks of doing so. At what point does it become acceptable for family vehicles and children to become military targets? Isn't there a code of conduct of some sort (I know you're not supposed to involve kids and women according to Islamic law)? Shouldn't these people be tried by an Internationl Court? The deafening silence from the G8, from the Arab countries and from the OIC (whose current president was off in Australia having his sinus fixed, supposedly) borders on disgusting. Of course, the media goes to red alert the moment a single Israeli soldier is abducted.

If I, a comparatively liberal Muslim feels this way, I can only imagine how the more right-wing individuals would react to this. And what about those who are actually living in Lebanon? Or in Iraq (with civil war threatening to break 3 years after Bush declared Mission Accomplished) or in Afghanistan (now supplier of 90% of the world's heroin)? Do we expect them to accept their fate meekly and not go down fighting? Would it be a surprise if Syria or Iran joins in to help their bethren and the Israelis then get assistance from the States?

I'm afraid for the world.

Blogthings

Being sufficiently bored this afternoon and seeing that I wasn't in the mood to pick up any particular book, I decided to click repeatedly on the 'Random Articles' button over at Wikipedia, which is a remarkably fun way to waste time. Rawang managed to show up, and I even attempted to read about Laplace formulas, for which Sweetie should be suitably impressed! Not that I understood much of it. But that's why she's the engineer and I'm the doctor.

Also decided to visit a website that was forwarded to me by a friend, in which various blog-based quizzes can be found. So I spent some time on 'em, of which the results can be found down below. Some of them, anyway. Mostly amusing as there are some elements of truth and some elements of 'what-the?', although I'd love to have been Batman.

Your Values Profile

Loyalty: You value loyalty a fair amount. You're loyal to your friends... to a point. But if they cross you, you will reconsider your loyalties. Staying true to others is important to you, but you also stay true to yourself. Honesty: You don't really value honesty. You do value getting your way, no matter what. And if a little lying is required to do that, no problem. A few white lies never hurt anyone (at least, that's what you tell yourself!) Generosity: You value generosity a fair amount. You are all about giving, as long as there's some give and take. Supportive and kind, you don't mind helping out a friend in need. But you know when you've given too much. You have no problem saying "no"! Humility: You value humility highly. You have the self-confidence to be happy with who you are. And you don't need to seek praise to make yourself feel better. You're very modest, and you're keep the drama factor low. Tolerance: You value tolerance highly. Not only do you enjoy the company of those very different from you... You do all that you can to seek it out interesting and unique friends. You think there are many truths in life, and you're open to many of them.

The Five Factor Values Test

You Are Spider-Man

Quick and agile, you have killer instincts (literally). And that kind of makes up for the whole creepy spider thing.

What Superhero Are You?

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 20% Conservative, 80% Liberal

Social Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

You Are An ENTJ

The Executive You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others. Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise. Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow. You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence. You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant.

What's Your Personality Type?

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

The week past

There I was happily (grumpily, to be honest) filling in the blanks for a discharge letter, when the high-decibel shrill that is the bleep went off.

Lady = Hi, is that Helmy?
Me = Yup, speaking.
Lady = Did you sign up for the course on Managing Chronic Diseases?
Me = Yes, I did (answered rather enthusiastically)
Lady = Where are you then? It’s today.
Me = (fuckfuckfuckfuck) Err…I was informed that it was next week (rather less enthusiastically)

Basically, an idiotic secretary gave me the wrong dates. So I rushed through what work was left, mentally noted that I should never apply for a job in the North East in the future (bearing in mind that Mrs Postgraduate Dean of Medicine was expecting me way before the phone call), muttered an apology to the Ravi (one of the nicer orthopaedic SHOs), chucked a couple of clothing items into the nearest bag and hopped on the next available train to Newcastle to the amusement of Sweetie.

The course itself was to do with helping patients with chronic illnesses manage their conditions more effectively. Without going into too much detail, the idea is wonderful but its application is rather limited by pragmatic issues. We would all love to spend an hour with each patient to sieve through all the various issues, but only psychiatrists ever get to spend that much time with their patients.

Being in Newcastle allowed me to attend Shanti’s graduation as well as meet her mum and sister, Gloria. And even better, be fed with some lovely chicken curry! Company was good and it was rather intriguing teasing out the details of another family that is of malayalee-malay descent. Trust me, you don’t get too many of us. Also discussed various issues that were both intellectually challenging and confusing with the elder sis, who’s the only Malaysian I know so far who’s doing a PhD in Philosophy.

The trip to Newcastle also allowed me to finally start and finish Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman’s novel that was presented to be by Reem and Jo for my b’day last year. Seeing that I’m one of those folks who is capable of buying a book with his name on it even before it’s published, any review might be a wee bit biased.

But debuting on the New York Times’ bestseller list has to count for something. The book can best be described as a comic fantasy (although not quite to the extent of Pratchett), interspersed with a good mix of darker elements and surrealism although it’s mostly based on day-to-day reality. It’s fun, and it’s infectious – I found myself laughing out loud at numerous times to the puzzled looks of others on board the train – and does not take itself as serious as American Gods did.

The story is based on the premise that Anansi, the tricksy God of story-telling is dead. And what role does a God’s children play when said god is dead? Especially if one of the kid is unaware of his heritage? The plot may not be the most complex I’ve come across, but the strength of the novel is in its wordplay – a brilliant mingling of the mundane and the fantastic, and witticism at its most uninhibited.

Will be in Carlisle for the weekend, as I’m on-call for surgery. Shouldn’t be particularly busy but one never knows. I’ll probably spend my free time chatting with Sweetie, read a book (once I’ve finished the debate with myself on which book to actually read) and send another email or two to the UKMMF (a mailing list of Malay docs in the UK & Eire), which will probably serve to antagonise a member or ten as I tend to play the devil’s advocate.

Politikus

What’s almost as interesting as all the noise that can be heard in the political/legal circles back home is the silence that is emanating from various parties. Najib has declared his support for Pak Lah, but has refrained from antagonising DrM. The opposition are relatively quiet, probably prefering to sit at the sidelines and laugh as they watch the big guns shoot each other (and themselves in the foot).

And in the process, we have interesting developments – a fan club called Generasi M (someone's making money off it, no doubt), Syed Hamid Albar being criticised for his attitude by the PJ UMNO branch leader and it's members. Openly.

Good ‘ol Anwar has made a range of new allegations about how the government was run under Mahathir, seemingly neglecting the fact that he was in the cabinet and held important portfolios at the time. He had obviously tried his darnest to set things right but the evil mechanisms that surrounded him simply rendered his honest objections useless.

The former owner of the national airline filed a court document to say he never wanted it and that DrM's government made him buy it. Is he complaining of the fact that if it wasn’t for government help, he’d never be a multi-millionaire and would never have risen to the dizzying heights that he did? I forgot, he was so successful due to his merits.

And last week, a former political secretary of Mahathir, who weighed in to support his former boss, was rewarded with a defamation suit for RM50m from the deputy chairman of Malaysia's biggest newspaper group. Who happens to be a business partner of KJ and is also the boss of Syed Hamid’s son.

The funniest thing is knowing that most of these people don't really give a damn about you and me anyway, but are trying their best to save their own asses. And they're probably in a fix - the big players who would like to bring DrM down will have to tread very carefully, as they were part of his government not too long ago and you can rest assured that if they tried to smear his name, he'll drag them down with him.

The mainstream media, which under Abdullah's election manifesto was supposed to report the news rather than be the government's good-news mouthpiece, has blacked out many of the incidents. The government has also responded through Nazri Aziz, minister in the Prime Minister's office who, appears to be the ‘chosen’ rep to say all that Pak Lah isn’t saying.

At this point in time, I have a problem with Nazri – he may, of course, be saying things for reasons of provocation or has been instructed to do so etc rather than actually holding true to those statements, but if there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s intentional stupidity.

Once upon a time, he dismissed suggestions of parliamentary proceedings being shown live – because the public was not mature enough to not react emotionally to issues raised, especially those revolving around racial interactions. And we all know how amazing the MPs are in being matured by calling each other binatang and how much time they spend debating important issues e.g. is it appropriate to wear a bow tie to parliament?

And then he launched a fierce attack on DrM, advising him to be a "real man" and to leave UMNO, the ruling party. He even accused Mahathir of not loving his country, as if criticising the Government meant criticising the country. Of course, he’s probably taking a leaf from the scores of dictators who were all probably doing the hokey-pokey in their graves.

Recently, the Attorney-General floated the idea of bringing back jury trials, as he is under the impression that Malaysians were now better read, informed and competent. But naturally Nazri had to have his say - Jurors were "ordinary" people. They might be swayed into believing clever lawyers' arguments. Even worse, they might be bribed. Apparently the Malaysian public is too darn stupid and Malaysian judges are renowned for their professionalism, incorruptibility and independence.

Many have moaned about the fact that the ongoing saga will result in a split of UMNO and the Melayu community. I seriously doubt it’ll be that bad – if UMNO can survive the DrM-KuLi saga, then it can definitely survive this (although technically speaking, UMNO was declared illegal then. Hmm…). But even if that’s the case, so what?

Many have also moaned the fact that the way politics work in Malaysia is entrenched and there’s nothing we can do about it but work with the system. When the opportunity comes knocking for the system to receive a good shaking however, they shy away in fear. Admittedly, there’s a lot of vested interest involved.

The thing is - Here’s the first proper public debate we’ve had in ages. And although it might be ironic that it’s being led by the very individual who had suppressed such open discourse in the past, it’s better late than never. But first of all, somehow needs to knock some sense into Nazri's head.

Forza Italia!!

Having been kicked out of the past few World Cups via the penalty shoot-out, and having lost to France during extra-time in an excruciatingly painful Euro2000 final, it was most gratifying (and perhaps somewhat surprising) that Italy finally lifted their curse and won the 2006 World Cup in Berlin – yes, via the penalty shootout. Of course, if you live on planet Earth, you’d know this by now.

Woohoo!!!!!!!!

Am I happy or am I happy? After all the heartbreak since starting to watch them play in Italia ’90.

Admittedly, Italy didn’t play as well as they did in the semi-finals against Germany, but they persevered despite a penalty unfairly given against them and I think the reason they succeeded in this tournament (besides the skills and the fantastic work by Lippi in ‘letting them loose’) is the amazing mental fortitude that they showcased, evident from their ‘Group of Death’ matches right up against both Germany and this match too. This despite (or maybe because of) the scandals rocking the football community back home. Funnily enough, the last time Italy won, it was following a corruption scandal as well.

Cannavaro was simply amazing – he was the rock that held the team together, like Paolo Maldini before him (who won everything on offer except the World Cup). And the match actually saw him earning his 100th cap, second only to Dino Zoff and the great Maldini. I think the midfield held together pretty well – Pirlo and Gattuso were definitely the pair of the tournament – although in the finals, Totti and the strikers failed to shine.

In the end, it was a final in which Materazzi played a big role – having committed the ‘foul’ that enabled Zidane to score, equalising from a wonderful header off a Pirlo corner, and being head-butted at the chest by Zidane during extra-time. What he said to actually piss Zidane off is unknown at present, but it was definitely an awful (and stupid) way for a great player like The Magician to end his career. And Materazzi only played in the latter bit of the tournament ‘cause Nesta injured himself.

Woohoo!!!!!!! In your face, all you disbelievers!!!!!!

Italy is now the most successful European football team, having won the tournament 4 times, one less than the great Brazil. There’s an interesting pattern to them winning it – the lost the finals of ’70 to Brazil, won 12 years later against a European team, lost in 1994 to Brazil and won again 12 years later against a European team. Here’s hoping that it won’t be another 24 years before I see another Italian victory!

Red Hot Chili Peppers

There I was standing in the summer heat, attempting to fend off the piercing rays of the sun with the latest issues of the BMJ and The Lancet that I was reading every so often. Yeah, geek-ish, I know. But I did arrive early into Sheffield to queue up outside the gates a good four hours before the show actually started and God knows that without something to read, I would have died of boredom almost as quickly as any earthworm that chose to sunbathe in the field of the Don Valley Stadium on a day that 40 000 people (give or take a couple of thousand) would be jumping along to the sounds of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

We were finally let in after I had put on a few more coats of tan, and the Caucasians were a healthy pink that would’ve given any salmon a run for its money. It was almost amusing listening to them bitch about the summer sun, knowing full well that they’ll be bitching about the bitter winter cold in a few months. But we were happy to jog into the stadium in the evening, and it was well worth the effort of queuing up early as I managed to get right up to the stage and felt a little smug as I looked back at the sea of people that were pushing and shoving. Except that every other person had a camera and I didn’t.

The first act was a band with the decidedly unpronounceable name of ‘!!!’. The first couple of songs were pretty good, and they had a pretty decent mixture of funk and rock, along with chord progressions that sounded almost ska-like (which I like). And then they got into the whole layan diri mode and started screeching and playing extended pieces and atonic chords ala Radiohead. Which is ok for Radiohead ‘cause they’re Radiohead, but who the fuck were ‘!!!’? Luckily they realised their mistake in time and launched into a more peppy tune, which had the audience hopping along before Ben Harper came along to keep us company.

Ben Harper was supported ably by his band, The Innocent Criminals. The bassist, a rather obese chap named Juan Nelson, was particularly impressive as he let loose a few numbers that were simply graceful, for want of another word. The percussion was also out in force – drums, congas, bongos, tambourines, djimbe; to name a few. Harper, who specialises in the Weissenborn acoustic slide guitar, is quite at home with ballads that could be used to as lullabies for your little niece, as well as screaming himself hoarse while the stadium headbangs to the goreng-ing of his sliding fingers. Not the best opening act I’ve ever seen, but pretty darn impressive (the worst was the opening act for Pink : a couple of girls jumping around while playing songs from a CD player). I was disappointed that he didn’t play Sexual Healing though.

In between performances, the organisers were kind enough to keep us busy by providing beach balls that somehow managed to keep the younger audiences happy for a while, before they resorted to the usual battle of throwing plastic bottles at various ‘camps’. I felt decidedly old when I kept on shaking my head and thinking ‘kids!’. The audiences were also kept happy by a number of girls deciding to bare their breasts on screen (the weather accounted for the higher-than-usual amount of bikinis and bikini tops) and I dare say that was probably more effective for the testosterone-laded lads than all the beach balls in the world.

The main act itself was pretty amazing – everything that I thought they would be. Flea started the proceedings with a bass intro that got everyone swaying, before John Frusciante joined in with a guitar riff of his own and the trio was completed by the mood-setting drumbeats of Chad Smith. And this scenario was replayed over and over again every few songs, with the 3 of them starting off with seemingly diffuse musical pathways that will somehow gel together with everyone nodding along. And therein probably lies one of the factors behind the ROCP’s success since Blood Sugar Sex Magik (sic) was released all those years ago – their ability to combine funk, rap, psychedelia, punk and heavy metal into music that is almost jazz-like at times.

Anthony Kiedis was great on vocals – he got the crowd going by a wonderful rendition of By The Way. In the end, the songs were a mixture of probably 1/3 from the latest album (including the tunes readily available on the airwaves such as Dani California and Tell Me Baby, to the catchy tunes but unreleased tunes such as Snow). The other songs were a mixture of the previous albums, which included my favourite ROCP song – Otherside. I think that it’s one of the more beautiful songs I’ve heard – unpretentious lyrics with good vocals, a tuneful guitar and I especially love the bass.

The problem with being in front is that the swarm of sweaty and slimy bodies would be pushed en masse against you, and you spend half the time ensuring you don’t get trampled in the underfoot. So after a few songs, I decided to retire about 10m back, which was a pretty good distance to take in the view and listen to the music. Initially, the vocals were almost lost in the sound of the instruments but thankfully the problem was fixed by the time Kiedis was on stage.

The only complaint I have is probably the lack of interaction with the audience by the lead singer. In fact, only Flea made any attempt at building a rapport. But in a way it was strangely fresh – no pretentious ‘Hello Sheffield, this is the best venue we’ve ever played!’ or shit like that. Instead, they got down to the business of performing and perform they did.

The enthusiasm from the stage was infectious, and I found me letting myself go, jumping around and even partaking in the events of the rather expanded most pit. And by the time the gig was closed with Can’t Stop, the crowd resembled a huge rave party with everyone letting loose and lifting off the ground in a surprisingly well-adjusted manner.

Kudo was kind enough to play host that night, despite the stink that probably permeated his house due to my presence. The sudden withdrawal of adrenaline left me heavily knackered, and every single muscle was crying out for attention. Well, almost every single muscle. Sleep was very much welcomed and I comfortably drifted into a dreamless sleep for the night.

Malas

The medical rota has been a success so far, with no complaints except from myself as I had forgotten to write in favourable on-calls for myself. But I guess that would be a tad bit unethical. Am happy with the finished product though, especially after all the reworkings that had to be put in place.

I'm guessing I should make the most of my 'honeymoon period' in orthopaedics before I start 8 months of medical on-calls in August. So here I am typing bits out and hysterically laughing at a recording of Russell Peters, the Canadian stand-up comedian. Finishing my annual leave over the next couple of days with a visit to Sheffield to watch my (surprisingly) first concert of the year.

Think I'll just stay back in Carlisle over the weekend though. Last weekend was fun enough with a visit to Glasgow which involved watching Argentina lose to the delight of the majority of the crowd, and also watching England lose to the first decent opposition they came across. Also to the delight of the crowd. Met up with Oja and her friends and found myself in the rather unlikely situation of being surrounded by 70-odd architects.

CT and Yus also joined the fun, although they weren't as reckless as Oja and myself in the shopping department. Some items were well discounted though, and since most of them weren't for myself (I think), I didn't feel too guilty.

So that's why I'll just spend a lazy weekend in a couple of days. Might try and catch Pirates of the Caribbean 2. Get a bit of shopping done, watch the 3rd/4th place match on Saturday after chatting with Sweetie and stay glued to the finals on Sunday. Italy thrashing France would be a brilliant finale to the week.

Keeping the faith

The Germany vs Italy match was watched by moi in the doctors' room off the ward during a thankfully benign on-call shift. Rushed back to the accommodation as the game went into extra time, thinking (along with every other person I'm sure) that we'll be witnessing more penalties in a game that is bound to go down as one of the classics of the World Cup.

Although normal time finished with the score at 0-0, there was a fascinating play of attacking football and a fluency to both sides that was just a marvel to watch. It was personally gratifying to watch players like Gattuso and Pirlo perform at a similat wavelength, or to marvel at the defensive strength of the Nesta-less team. Even more heartening was the show of respect of the teams for each other and the spirit of sportsmanship that prevailed.

Two minutes before the end of extra-time,Fabio Grosso (yup, guy who fell at the penalty box at the last minute against Australia) caught the ball at the edge of the six yard box and curled an absolute wonder around Lehmann and inside the German goalkeeper's far post. Cue jumping and whooping by yours truly.

Germany tried equalising immediately, but the ever consistent captain, Cannavaro, sliced the ball to Gilardino, who picked out Del Piero on the left. The veteran Juventus player cut inside and lifted the ball over Lehmann and in at the far post. A beautiful finish for a beautiful match. Followed by more 'woohoo-ing' by moi and I have to admit, a wonderful sensation of being high.

The victory was made more beautiful by the fact that practically every single person I've spoken to poo-poohed my support for Italy (except this half-Italian nurse) and were confident that they'd get thrashed by Germany. But nobody can deny the brilliant performane displayed by Italy today, and it is with trepidation that I await their match in the finals on Sunday. Most of the Italian players might end up in Serie B if Juve and Milan's management are found guilty of match-mixing, but for the moment we can bask in the glory of a thoroughly deserved victory.