Opportunist

Salam

Being an opportunist can have effects both ways. You might come up with a chance in life to change it all, an opening for further progression and you snatch at it before it disappears. You might have waited for this window to emerge, and when it does so, not even a volcanic eruption can make you discard you belief to grab it.

But how about if you're like me. This winter I, I've been eyeballing some very smart looking wool coats but to my bad fortune, the prices were just a bit beyond what I could afford. More often than not, when I go browsing in shops, hopeful I might find a similar one with lower prices, I come across a section of other clothes that are on sale.

I have my sight set on coats, but then I find myself going through racks of shoes and trainers and shirts and all sorts. The word SALE just blinds me. If it was left to my whim, I might have snatched up a lot of stuff and bought them all without any hesitance. But I remember what Am told me when we went shopping: Buy it because you want it, not purely because its cheap. I use to think, hell yeah if you've got stacks of paper money but not in my situation. Anything thats decent and cheap, I must grab before it goes.

But this time around, my perception has changed. Things you buy because its cheap does not give you the same satisfaction when you buy something you have always aimed and wished for. You might think for a while 'that was a fruitfull buy, look at all these stuff i've got'. But as life progresses, you find these opportunistic buys stashed away at the back of your wardrobe, at the bottom of your pile of clothes, in boxes kept away in your storage room. You realise you do not really want them. And if you realised it a lot earlier, you might be lucky and be able to return it. If not, well, either you re-sell them on ebay, keep them stashed away or give them away as presents.

In human terms, beware of opportunists. My dad reminded my sister how dangerous it is to be locked in a relationship with an opportunist. Things will not last because you're not really wanted. You might turn out to be one of the the 'alah membeli, menang memakai'. But you might also be discarded once the actual desired item is present. You might be approached at times when you are vulnerable, giving you the shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, a friend in need. But should you realise, its only because the same situation has failed in others, thats why these opportunists end up there. It is hard to be on guard when you are vulnerable. And when another opportunity emerges, the same cycle happens again but this time, its another person in the picture.

So my dear sister, our wise old man has spoken and I assure you, what he said does bare its truth. Open your eyes and see, do not let emotions blind you and you will realise, you've been saved from a trap of the opportunist.

Na'uzubillahi min zaalik.

The Picture

Salam

I'm back again to share another experience, another memorable moment in life. Hopefully one that will make me more the wiser as I am today.

As a 3rd year medic, I looked at a picture today and I thougt. I thought long and hard, scrutinising every detail of the picture there is to scrutinise, overlooking those I did not have any knowledge of, and finally mustered all my courage to regurge the accumulated info swelling up in the belly of my mind.

"This is a picture by Leonardo Da Vinci drawn in the 16th century. It shows a fair skinned female sitting on a wooden chair with her arm crossed over; the right on top of the left, with dark hair and possibly wearing several layers of clothes. The outermost seems like a dark shawl draped around her shoulders, with an under layer which has yellow-brownish sleeves. In the far background, you can see clouds and hills and winding roads with a possible sea-like portion separating the hills from the clouds. It could just be the sky though".

What follows is the million dollar question:

So, what is this picture?

Yeah, everyone knows, its the Mona Lisa.

But thats how I am taught as a medical student. I read in books about all these signs and symptoms but I've never experienced them in life. When I get a scenario, I always look for clues; I scrutinise every little detail to see if any of them fit those that I've read about. If one or two signs are missing, I am scared to say 'its the Mona Lisa' because I would look like a total idiot if i get it wrong. How can you not recognise the Mona Lisa? But then, with things are so distinctively different, you just cant get it wrong. The only limitation here is either you have the knowledge or not.

But how about this?

I will attempt to describe an animal. It has four legs, furry and are kept as pets in houses, in other words domesticated animals. Its not very big.

As a medical student, I'ld be thinking: dog, cat, guinea pig, hamster, mouse and probably racking my head for any other possibilities without even knowing which one to rule out and which one to go with.

A consultant might just say its either a dog or a cat, but at the same time having all the other possibilities at the back of his/her head. Common things are common and from experience, they'll know which are the ones that is likely to be that animal.

Similarities: the consultant and I both know how a cat and dog and hamster etc looks like. We have the knowledge.

Difference: The consultant has been there for at least 10years, each day storing more info and creating a massive experience bank, knowing which are common and which are rare. S/he would immediately spot it only based on how people describe it while I might need to hear what sound the animal makes to be sure, whether it purs or barks etc. I might do the wrong tests and instead see what type of fur the animal has when probably hearing it's sound is a better diagnostic method.

So thats what I achieved from today's teaching. Learn to see the forest, not a tree.

Death

Today was the first day.
The one and only day yet.
I met a person who shared the same birthday as me.
She was born in the year 1940.

for illustrative purposes only

She was a cheery person.
I clerked her, my partner examined her.
We had a good chat.
And said our goodbyes.

She was going to die from primary pancreatic cancer.
She had a massive mass in her abdo.
But she knew nothing of it
Since they hadn't broken the bad news yet.
Tops is 3-6months for her.

What a timely reminder.
Astaghfirullah.