HEY , I WENT STAG!!!

The MMA Pahang held their annual dinner tonight and I was invited by a physician who sponsored a whole table of ten. I was initially reluctant to go as ikelah is on call tonight and that means I had to attend the dinner alone. Going stag to a formal ado is such a pain. Essentially you'll be mingling with perfect strangers or people whom you only meet once a year! I tried coaxing a colleague to come along but alas she can't find a replacement for her night shift. Alhamdulillah I get to sit next to a fellow GP who is into aesthetic medicine and I got an insight of the compelling field she is practicing now. The food was ok. Though I can never understand Chinese course! You eat all the protein first and the carbohydrate last! Technically I think it's a healthy way to eat as you are forced to ruminate slowly on each dish. But I ended still feeling hungry as I had to leave early (my poor kids were waiting for me at the nearby mall) and didn't get to savor the rice.

As all formal functions in Malaysia (why aaah?), the dinner started almost an hour late waiting for the VIP guest. The event was emceed by two doctors who spoke quite eloquently I daresay. One of them is a guy who chose not to practice medicine right after housemanship. Instead, he made a tremendous 'jump' into the ICT world and started a successful internet business. I am forever at awe of such brave people who dare make great life-changes and follow their heart.

We were entertained by the state budaya dancers who danced gracefully a potpourri of local traditional dances. The person next to me queried, 'Why do the dancers smile continuously whilst they dance?" And I replied, "It's to show that they are enjoying the exercise!'. To which she responded, "Yes but it'll be otherwise if the dancers are doctors cause they'll be frowning away, hehe!"

After the third dish, roasted chicken, I made my move and excused myself from the table. Only after having left the place, did I realize that I should have left my invitation card with the guests at the table to collect the lucky draw prize if my number, 121, got lucky! Oh well...Sorry no pics of the dinner. Going alone to the function with no partner is an embarrassment enough. Bringing a camera and clicking away might worsen the uneasy scenario.

However I have some lovely pics taken by my son, Luqman at the recent wedding of ikelah's cousin. He managed to capture the heart rendering moments of the bride hugging her dad. It's as though she had crossed a border with a heavy heart and reluctantly, she had to leave her dad behind. For a good moment, both daughter and father were lost in their own oblivious 'space and time', not wanting to be separated. Obviously anyone can tell that the bride is close to her dad. I can't explain why but I never fail to shed tears each time immediately after the 'akad' is said successfully and the 'saksi' persons nod positively in agreement whilst everyone else sighs in relief. This time, my tears rolled even more when I quietly watched the tender hugging moment between daughter and father. And I believe my girls will be doing the same thing with ikelah when their time comes....