Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.

I can't recall who came up with such meaningful words, but I know it's my wife who gives me good chance to be Jasmine's special dad.

This Sunday, my wife lent me her bike so that we could roam on our own. There were only two of us, and not a lot of traffic on the bicycle trail (because that's the Lunar New Year's Eve). That

We have seen buckets of evidence for having family dinner, and that children who eat dinner with families are less likely to drink, smoke, do drugs. We all know it. It's about coming together as a family. That's also what I learned from Bruce Feiler after reading The Secrets of Happy Families.

There's just one little thing. Few things are easier than citing the research, and few things are harder than walking the talk.

I worked till late this evening. By the time

At just 7:30 this morning, my daughter's alarm clock rang and she woke up, missing mummy a lot.

"Hey, I told you, mom has an operation this morning. Dear, let me help you." "Mommmmmmmmmmm, I want mummy."

I glanced at the clock on the wall, the steady sweep of the second hand ticking off precious time, getting closer and closer to the school bus time. My goal was to get my daughter ready before the school bus departed

After finishing a book on empathy by the psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen tonight, I switched topic and read Double Daisy with my daughter. That's a hilarious chapter book for intermediate readers.

Now that Jasmine has turned six, I don't really have to read the book for her. Not because I'm less willing to read but because she's more willing to read. In other words, I simply sit next to her when she reads aloud. What an amazing habit to bestow on our children

My dialysis patient was dying. The fluid drained from his abdomen was red, and his lips blue. We were discussing the ways to keep him comfortable during the morning round. "Should we stop escalating the antibiotics?" I asked.

Absolutely.

Every team member agreed and I leaned forward to write down the decision. I glanced at the consultant next to me and didn't have to wait long to find out he frowned at my handwriting. So, did I write too much? Probably yes, a small

We've all been in a situation like that - growing old and looking back with some pride in how worse we've had been.

It is, without question, one of my favorite ways to talk to my juniors: "When I was your age ..." In so many ways, life is better now than it was then.

To tell others how we drew blood from each and every patient in a medical ward without phlebotomists' assistance can feel like we've been hundred times tougher than

Medicine is not only about science, it's sometimes about dogmas handed down from generation to generation. Sometimes, these universally accepted dogmas are more often wrong than right.

That's what I taught the two medical students joining me last week for apprenticeship program. The greater the ignorance, to paraphrase Sir William Osler, the greater the dogmatism.

Our conversation started when a senior consultant taught us the rules and dogmas of using diuretic in patients who have weakening of the heart's pumping capabilities. Seemingly, we'

We went camping with three other families at the beginning of this year. It's hard to imagine anything more exciting than bringing kids to sleep in the open air, under nothing more than a tent.

Real phobias aside (say, in case my daughter says no to the smelly loo, yuck), family camping will just give us the right mix of fun and imagination. No matter whether it's the first time or the third time, everyone feels nervous and excited at the same time.

As I

I have had difficulty in telling the difference between pronouncing "my pleasure"" and "my pressure" for as long as I can remember.

Yes, you read me right. And yes, they sound similar to my ears. I admit that my phonic skill is not as good as my six-year-old daughter.

And yet.

And yet.

I taught my daughter how similar the two words "pleasure" and "pressure" turn out to be.

Yesterday, before my Christmas holiday ended, we

I've been reading A Manual for Cleaning Women , a collection of short stories by Lucia Berlin. Her tales of pink-collar workers are pretty cool. Some are good. Some are otherworldly (and somewhat drunk). Some are truly touching.

But, to be honest, I love another story book more: Once Upon an Alphabet . This is Oliver Jeffers' collection of short stories, each of them dedicated to an alphabet, from A to Z. I read this book with Jasmine recently. We both