毕业典礼 Convocation

小时候，只有大学毕业后，才有毕业典礼。

可是，不知从什么时候开始，连幼稚园也开始举办毕业典礼来！而且还装扮得似模似样，毕业长袍及方帽都齐全！家长们也乐呵呵的配合，拍照留恋。

我本身就上了两年的幼儿园课程，依稀记得有拍班级照，但印象中似乎没有所谓的毕业照。我也不晓得当时为何会上了两年的幼稚园课程，也忘了当时是如何度过的！

在我的家庭里，我是第一个从大学毕业的。毕业典礼当天，父母亲都从老远的槟城，奔驰到新加坡来，出席了我的毕业典礼。

前几天傍晚（七月24日）， 出席了靖捷的毕业典礼。虽然已是第三回参加毕业典礼，还是很兴奋！身为家长，能目睹孩子们成功完成高等教育，是多么值得骄傲与庆幸的！我想当年我父母也是抱有同样的想法。

当天，下午四点，便驾车到南大校园报道。很快便找到停车处，然后步行到毕业典礼的礼堂去。

当天的主角，靖捷，与朋友们联络上后，便忙着与朋友们拍照留恋！

当然，领取毕业证书的那一刻，是不能错过的！

毕业，就业，成家。。。似乎是常人必经的里程碑。人生起起落落，不敢妄求一帆风顺，但希望过程不会太过坎坷，碰到困难，皆能成功过关斩将，否极泰来！

It is always a joy to attend the convocation of our children, no matter how many time it is!

Cheng Jie finally graduated from his university course this year. He started working in ST Engineer since first week of July. And the convocation was held on 24 July 2023. 

The venue was packed with graduates and their family members, all smiling from ear to ear!

The entire ceremony lasted about 2 hours or so, with refreshment served for attendees at the end of the ceremony. 

沉迷与执着 indulgence and perseverance

沉迷与执着，前者是负面的，后者则是受人称赞的！两者都会导致当事人废寝忘食，精神不振。

我本人认为，沉迷只所以会令人诟病，是因为过于沉迷于某件事，效果往往与预期的背道而驰，向失败的方向前进。但执着则往往给人一种持之于恒的感觉，是步向成功的不二法门。我倒认为，两者是一样的。

好比成者为王，败者为寇，为何沉迷于某种嗜好者就不能成功呢？君不见有不少沉迷于网络游戏的“不良”少年，在新兴的国际电子游戏大PK，赢个大满贯，闯出给春天来。而执着于某种研究，却碰上瓶颈，没有突破口。

话说回来，若没有沉迷与执着，碰到困难便退缩，必定一事无成。

所以，适当的沉迷，也许是可以放纵的！

Moving Forward

Is indulgence a bad habit, when compared to perseverance?

To me, both shares the same trait - they are akin to the faces on both sides of a coin.

We need certain degreee of indulgence and/or perseverance, to complete various tasks. This is particularly pertinent when dealing with challenging tasks. Without these traits, one would have given up trying when encounter the slightest hurdles.

那种味道 That Special Taste of Food!

Horfun 河粉

我的父亲已经往生多年。打从我有记忆开始，只晓得他一直以来都在高渊小镇中心，摆有几摊小吃档口的“公市”当小贩。他一直面墙，负责煮炒（面粉果条，各类蔬菜，鱼虾，肉类的烹饪）；在他后面，平行摆了售卖云吞面，果条汤，“广式”福建面的摊位，由我父亲聘请的另外一个头手负责。

我父亲的档口，生意蛮花红！往往在午餐及下午3-4点左右，来关顾的顾客挤挤攘攘，非常热闹。有些顾客，需要等上半个小时，才能吃到他们所点的食物。

一般上，要评估一个小贩的煮炒功力，就好的方法，不外是顾客人群的多寡，与等候时间的长短。

可想而知，我父亲的功力，应该是小贩圈里的佼佼者。后来，我的太太也称赞说我父亲除了煮的好，食物菜色的布置，与菜馆的也不分上下！

我打从中学时代，在放假时间，都会到档口去帮忙。我不会煮炒 （真后悔当年没学上一手），只能负责把弄好的面食，菜肴，送到久等的顾客餐桌前；然后在顾客们享用餐点完毕后，清理桌面。当盘碗不够用时，便赶紧去水槽里把盘碗，筷子，汤匙，清洗一番再端出来。

通常，档口会在5-6点左右，人潮开始稀落起来。也就在那时候，我会向我的父亲要一盘河粉。当时年轻的我，食量不小。父亲也会刻意炒了一盘特大并加料的河粉给我。

父亲的炒河粉，是用碳炒的，有那种难以形容的碳炒味，令人流延三尺。

父亲过世后，便再难品尝到类似的古早味。。。能引起我共鸣的，唯有在Alexander Village的一个炒河粉摊位。我的孩子们也都蛮喜欢。

My late father was a well known hawker in Nibong Tebal, dishing out ZhiChar food (including HorFun, various meat/poultry/vegetable entre).

I am particularly thrilled by the Hor Fun he made. 

I used to help out in the stall during school holidays (in my secondary school years). Before leaving the stall in the evening, my father would usually dish out a big portion of Fried Hor Fun, laced with eggs, prawns, meat etc for me. The HorFun was cooked with charcoal fire...this method of cooking left some indelible taste, which till now still haunt me! Those subtle sublime taste is hard to find now... the closest I have encountered over the years is the stall frying Hor Fun in Alexander Village (and yes, using Charcoal!).  

男人，你要管好“下半身” Men! Better take care of your "lower half"!

新加坡这个岛国，常人的生活习俗，向来单调无味 ，缺少声色犬马的渲染。

万想不到，在短短的一天以内，劲爆的桃色新闻，一件一件的浮出水面。之所以如此轰动，是因为执政与反对党，双双都中枪啦！

虽然这是私人问题，但在保守的东方社会，尤其是领袖级的公众人士，这些瑕疵，就难免会遭人非议。

在男尊女卑的旧社会，女人必定被套上红颜祸水的罪名。

其实，一只手拍不响，男方也有一定的责任！

诚然，在充满诱惑，光怪陆离的社会，对抗无奇不有的引诱，着实不易。稍微放松警惕，便会掉进陷阱。男人，为了家庭及事业，真的需要管好自个的“下半身”，不然会我家宝贝，后患无穷。

Singapore's political landscape was rocked by scandals overnight 2 days ago... It seemed both end of political parties (incumbent and opposition) were vying for same attention.

The story-line were almost the same - members from the same party, being involved in "inappropriate" behaviours for several years. Warnings were given (by party chief, or whistleblower), and were ignored.

Then, suddenly, bombshells were dropped suddenly, within hours (or was it minutes) ... headline of breaking news started to flash in local news channels. Before long, people began to realize that these were not fake news!

最不喜欢碰上的病人 The types of patients I feared

我是有超过25年经验的小儿科医生。成功领取专科资格后的前一段时间在政府（公共）医院就职，后来转移到私人界发展。这段时间，碰上了形形色色的病人及其看护者。

虽说医者父母心，我应该用爱心，耐心去对待每一个患者。但还是有几类患者及其家长，是我不喜欢碰上的：

1. 无法接受确诊病症者、。

    有些病症，已病入膏肓，但家长们还是不能接受此事实，在病房里大闹一场。

    有些病症，根本原因是心理病，但患者及家长还是无法相信，到处寻求第二个意见。

     诚然，患者及家长，在非常时期难免焦虑，导致思绪混乱，无法用正规方式处理事情的演变；适当的发发牢骚或质疑医生的诊断，是无可厚非的。不过若已呈现确凿的证据，证明诊断没错，还怀疑医生的诊断，就有点过分了。

2. 质问为什么在病发初期没有做正确诊断的患者及其家人。

    一般的普通病症，如伤风感冒，急性肠胃炎的腹泻，哮喘等病症，多数医生都能“轻而易举” 的确诊并配药。

    但有些奇难杂症，初期症状与其它普通病症大同小异，唯有过了一段时期，特殊的症状才缓缓上场。或许常人无法知晓，在医学上，有些病症要在好几年后才呈现出“经典”的症状。

    患者要给主治医生一些时间。

3. 完全相信“谷歌医生”者。

   网际网络的普及化，及其内容的多样化，是一个不错的知识库！

    用得恰当，对病情的认识，有一定的帮助。

   不过“完全信书就不如不读书”，同样的原理，网络上的信息，有时会过于极端，运用不好，可能会弄巧反挫，虚惊一场是小事，错过了确诊才可惜！

当然，我不是神医。也有误诊的时刻。经验是从失败中吸取的。误诊了，就要虚心学习！

Over the years, thruogh my practice as a paediatrician, I have encountered many kinds of patients and parents.

I empathise with parental anxiety, when their loved ones are sick.

But, there are just a few types of patients that bother me sometimes-

1. those who cannot accept the diagnosis given - particularly when it comes to terminal illnesses or psychological issues (i.e. the medical condition is not caused by organic cause)

2. those who question why a complex case is not diagnosed at initial presentation - and/or it took so long for a diagnosis to be confirmed/made

3. those who have fervent believes with DR Google, and fail to analyse their medical symptoms appropriately. Yes, I googled for latest information on certain rare medical illnesses, or latest advances for various medical illnesses. But not all information put up in Google is true... some may be put up by unscrupulous individuals trying to entice desperate patients for unsound/unproven treatment.

Gone are the old days where a practising doctor can adopt a paternalistic approach. Now, a lot of emphasis is placed on "informed decision" and "shared care". To be successful in the latter model, interpersonal rapport/ communication is vital.

生病寻医 Seeing a doctor when sick...

这几天生病了，关节疼痛，喉咙发炎失声。

就来谈谈生病寻医吧！

生病了寻医，在日常生活里，是理所当然的事。

虽说一般的伤风感冒，休息几天便可自愈；但 有些疾病，开始时也许症状轻微，但日久未愈，就可要小心。

寻医，最担心的是碰到庸医，或不负责任的医生。虽说花钱消灾，能用金钱换回健康，是值得欣慰的。但若发现被没有医德的行医者敲了竹杠，难免会愤愤不平。劝告行医者，赚钱虽然重要，也要有点怜悯之心与医德！

报章上偶尔会报道误诊而导致患者错过了理想治疗时间。

所谓的误诊，起因有二：

其一，有些病症，发病初期，症状并不明显。不过，随着病情的演变，其他症状开始浮现出来，终于能确诊病情，对症下药。

其二，有些患者，急着要立马医好病状，三天两夜，往不同医生寻医；有时新质询的医生没有察觉到病情的演变过程，或忽略了某个环节，而错过了确诊的时机。

所以，“持之以恒” 跟定固定的医生，是很重要的！

不过，这并不意味患者不可以找另外一个医生，征求第二个意见。尤其是久医未愈，或治疗法有某些风险的时刻！

归根结底，对医生要有一定的信任，彼此有良好的沟通方式！

Fell sick the past few days - self medicated, now in recovery phase.

The general misconception is that patients are vulnerbale to be exploited by unscrupulous doctors. A lot of unnecessary tests and/or treatments are given to patients, causing heavy financial burden and psychological trauma.

Fortunately, majority of doctors held closely to Hippocrates Oath of "Do No Harm" to their patients.

When to consult a doctor, how long to stick to a doctor (particularly when there is no obvious improvement noted in once medical condition), and when to consult other doctors for 2nd opinion --> these are pertinent questions that raise different answers depending on the circumstances peculiar to each patients.

旅游 Holiday Travel

Changi Airport, the departure point for oversea travel

相信讨厌旅行的人不多。有人喜欢单枪匹马，背包走天涯，有人喜欢自驾游，也有人比较喜欢跟团游。

我也很喜欢到国外旅游， 一来可以增广见闻，亦可乘机休息一下身心。

我比较喜欢自驾游。可以根据自己的喜好，编排行程。

往往为了要充分利用短短的旅游时间， 把行程排得满满的，从一个景点跑到另一个景点去，除了短暂的午休时间（吃午餐），多数时间都花在赶路的车上，有时也挺累的。

但是有时“无心插柳柳成荫”， 来到一个出乎意料，振奋人心的非典型旅游地点，会格外开心！

过去二十多年，我与家人以陆续在新西兰，澳洲，希腊，葡萄牙，日本，韩国，冰岛，加拿大，美国 （东西海岸，阿拉西加），台湾自驾游；在中国跟团游。 偶而也背包似拖着行李在泰国，挪威旅游。。。春夏秋冬，冰河，冰洞，北极光。。。都经历了，感触蛮多。

希望接下来几年，有机会游览中国几个殿堂级景区：西藏，新疆，黄山，长城。。。。

要去的地方还很多，要走的路还很长！

Holiday travel is an all time favourite for most people.

The COVID pandemic in the past 3 years of so has severely restricted holiday travel plans for many people. The pent up desire for travel finally burst through in recent months, with the waning adverse impact of COVID infection.

I love travel, particular self driving road trips. This involves a lot of planning pre-travel, and needs a fair amount of stamina when on the road (particularly if you are the solo driver in the group).

Now that my 2 boys are in their twenties and able to drive, I left the driving to them most of the time (when we travelled oversea..eg. in our Iceland, Japan, Korea trips).

There are just so many places to visit!