Needless to say, nephrologists talk a lot about the blood's salt or sodium content. We teach our medical students that kidneys help to keep our body's solute (composed primarily of sodium) concentration or so-called osmolality within a narrow range. No more, no less. It would be hard to imagine how nature works it out to keep everything in such a fine balance.

Now. Maybe you think our body is too unwieldy or rigid to operate only within a narrow range of osmolality. "Why

One of the best-kept secrets about communication is that we always turn a deaf ear to the loudest, outrageous, unceasing, honking, banging, screaming voice. Few things are easier than making a big noise, and few things are harder than keeping our volume low when we're making requests.

Uh-oh, you thought I'm referring to our Chief Executive's deaf ear to the protest about express rail fight. That's undeniably true – up to a point. But it's

There's a good chance that you agree with me that hard-boiled egg doesn't taste good. Of all ways created by human beings to prepare an egg, none is more humdrum than a hard-boiled egg. But I'm pretty sure not too many of you would have difficulty with the know-how to boil an egg. I have.

When it comes to making an egg, I have no problem with cooking a fried egg, scrambled egg or omelette. Now that my baby has

I do not have New Year resolution to make. It's not that such resolution doesn't work – it does. However, why should we make resolutions simply to make ourselves feel better? Why should anyone? Does anyone? I don't, and I never did.

I turn forty next year. Come to think about it. It didn't take long for me to realize that I haven't had my baby until somewhere near the "half time" of my life. What I

Recent reading the novel Life of Pi brings back my overseas training memories that are engraved in a way I know will never fade.

Yann Martel's Life of Pi chronicles the tale of a 16-year-old Indian boy moving to Canada. One time, during my training in Montreal eight years ago, I started reading this novel, and never got the chance to finish it before coming back. I know I won't remember the story and will have to go back to page one again.

Wait

Preparedness is no laughing matter. It's real. Just when I think I've read up and prepped myself on a subject, the real thing will happen exactly.

To give you a little bit of the idea, I would say it's just like looking into a crystal ball. I believed that I should take a good look at Dr. Spook's Baby and Child Care yesterday; I then read the advice how to nurse and breast-feed a baby when the mother is ill. This

I remember reading the queer experience of the little prince seeing a lamplighter putting out the street lamp, followed by lighting it again. And then another morning, with the lamp extinguished again. Over a hundred thousand times. I remember it as a back-and-forth between the lamplighter and the little prince's fondness for his own rose. Antoine de Saint Exupéry's story helps me understand what the little prince describes as "the rose that belongs to me."

"Because she is my rose

Many a time while going shopping, I would ask my wife what's the purpose of buying a new thing. Without a doubt, finding the reason to spend money on anything new is the most challenging test a man will ever face.

After nine months of witnessing my wife's ever-growing belly to be a full-fledged baby, it began to dawn on me that I might not be as good as my wife in buying the right stuff.

Oh, sure, I hadn't thought of

Red letter days never cease to fill our hearts with joy and real fun. So much so that, hooray, the arrival of my baby brings with her miraculous words of admiration.

But there's a catch. The right thing to say – as it is when it comes to so many aspects of red letter days – is what's appropriate for everyone.

If there's anything more embarrassing than a question "So, when are you going to tie the knot?" in a wedding party, it

It's one week before the birth of my baby and I have many ultrasound photos capturing her adventure from the earliest embryo inside the womb. It is hard not to feel awestruck watching her growth from a humble-looking yolk sac to a lovely one with brain, heart, nose and legs.

Having a wife as an obstetrician means abundant opportunity for me to watch and adore my yet-to-be-born baby's face. Sure, the photos of her face invite lots of oohs and aahs from