The All England Championship

Malaysia vs Korea!

I went to Birmingham yesterday morning without knowing who will be the opponent of Lee Chong Wei; the fact that he's playing overruled everything else.

His was the second match of the day and being introduced as World's number 1, his entrance into the court was celebrated by kompang and cheering of Malaysians almost all over the arena.

As soon as he walked in I swore my heart started to pump faster, not only because I'll get to see him playing LIVE but also because of the excitement seeing fellow Malaysians cheering for him spiritedly.

There was a group of Malaysians wearing bright orange T-shirts and jackets with big Malaysian flags and kompang dominating the backseats of the arena. Too bad my camera is not good enough, I can't zoom in to snap their pictures in that relatively dark surrounding.

There there, can you see them?

Haiz, this really makes me feel like buying a new camera =.="
Akmar sabar...sabar...

When LCW's match was on, the loudness of Malaysians was unbelievable! I can hardly hear ANY Korean supporter.
I am not sure if it is because there is none, or out of intimidation, they do not dare to surface. Either way, that made me feel sorry for the Korean player.
Whenever he scored, the frustrated sounds of "Ooohh....", "Aaaahhh..." were louder than any cheer for him.
Of course, LCW won the match. That time I felt reallllly realllly bad for not buying the ticket for Final as well.

China's Lin Dan's match was the last of the day. Everyone was already tired of cheering so there wasn't much cheer. In addition, I can say that Lin Dan was not playing whole-heartedly so the game wasn't that exhilarating.

And that was my first time watching an international badminton championship, LIVE.
I cheered my lungs out for Malaysian's Lee Chong Wei. And got dehydrated, one bottle of mineral water was £2!

I hope he wins today's Final against Lin Dan!

What I can definitely say is, this experience was certainly an unforgettable, exciting and sweet memory for me :)
I hope he will still play next year, and I'll be able to afford both semi and final match tickets.

-Because life is a test-



-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com

Travel: A Trip South

The long-awaited day has finally come!
Tomorrow I'll be heading south to Birmingham, to watch the semi-final of All England!

[Source]

I've been planning this visit for a very long time, since early January to be exact.

I even asked my mum to post me the Jalur Gemilang, because initially, I wanted to watch the Olympics but then only I found out that the tickets have been sold out way long time ago.
So yes, tomorrow I'll start my day very early at the train station with some friends to Birmingham!



There is a half-price student discount for semi-finals but not for the finals. I was quite certain Lee Choong Wei will make it to at least the semi-final.

I did not dare to spend money to buy the ticket for Finals (it cost a bomb), because if Lee Choong Wei lost in semi-finals, then I'll have to watch the Finals without having any particular player to support.

But then again, if he did win the semi-final and proceeds to the final, I'll then have to go back home, feeling bad for not being able to watch the final.
But anyway, since money matters, I'm watching only the semi-final.
Plus, none of my close friends want to watch the Final with me.

I can't stop smiling, anticipating the trip tomorrow!


-Because life is a test-

Baskets and Maids

"So now, let's do your homework together"

said a father to his son in his thick Pakistani accent while walking back to their house.

"How much do you have to pay if you want 3 chocolates and each one of them cost 10pence?"

"30!"

"Good, 30pence. Now, if you give the shopkeeper 50pence, how much should you get back?"

I couldn't hear the rest of the conversation, but I think the son answered correctly because the father said "Brilliant!" while closing the house door. That was what I saw today while walking home. The father and son were my neighbours, staying about 5 houses away.

Having walked out of the bus with a very good mood, seeing the conversation made me smile non stop all the way home :)
Family members are the best, aren't they?

I have now started my 2nd (last) GP placement for my 3rd year having finished my exams and SSC last week. I am now already in the second term of 3rd year, with the final exam being this June (I think). I MUST pass that one, or else I can't enjoy my break in Malaysia.

Observation in a Private Paeds Clinic

But anyway, let's talk about other things.
I've done a 3-week elective with a consultant pediatrician in my second year, in Malaysia.
And since it was in a private specialist hospital, most of the patients (or rather, parents) are from somewhat elite social class (who else will want to pay for their baby health check-ups when the government hospitals are providing it for free?)
And most of the mothers come with a maid or a babysitter.
And usually, the babies were not held by the mother, the baby will be held by the maid.

The maid will be the one carrying the baby into the room, putting the baby onto the examination mattress, and pick the baby up again to soothe him/her down after the examination was over. The babies will either be crying in pain, having had a vaccination jab on their little, fleshy thighs or were simply irritated with the doctor disturbing them, pulling their clothes off and measuring their heights (lengths?), weights and all. Many (I won't dare to say "most") of the mothers do not lift a finger.

They looked at their babies, give a few motivational feedbacks, "Oh, my poor baby", "Oh, don't cry....", "Oohh..he's angry now" or "okay, okay, we are going out now... Nobody's gonna touch you anymore". But they don't pick their babies up. They do the talking with the doctor, while the maids do the calming down with the babies.

I meant to write about this observation then, but never quite really had the motivation to do so.

Since I've seen quite many babies being seen by the doctor, either for a routine check-up or illness, etc, I noticed that mothers here do not hold their babies as well. But they do not have a maid tailing them around. They carry baby baskets instead.

And once the doctor finished examining the baby, the mother will just put the crying, irritated baby back into the carrycot (or basket, or basin or whatever you want to call that thing) and to my amazement, the baby usually stopped crying! Almost immediately, as if they found comfort and security is in the basket.

Quite an observation, I'd say.
Don't mothers carry their babies anymore? Like what mothers did 15 years ago? Well, I can't remember my mother carrying a carrycot everywhere with my little brother in it.
It's disheartening to see babies finding comfort at places other than their parents' arms, don't u think so?

Carrying Your Baby

Why can't a mother carry her baby anymore nowadays?
I think it is because she needs to use her hands a lot. Women have started to be more busy with their lives (I think), compared to 15 years back. They need both their hands to

1. Check their mobile phones
2. Check their emails on mobile phones
3. Check their planner perhaps?
4. etc etc?

So maybe she can't afford to have her arms and hands committed to her baby every minute she spent with the baby outside the house.
But then again, isn't it sad if modern luxury is attained at the expense of the "skinship" btw the mothers and babies?

Oh well, just a random observation and thought :)

p/s: While looking for the image of the baby basket, I came across the online shopping website to buy all these baby stuff. Do u know how much one carrycot cost? About £200! Almost what I am paying for my monthly house rental!

-Because life is a test-

-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com