Shopping Under Sleep Deprivation

I daresay I have never shopped for so many clothes online in my entire life until the past 24 hours.

In total, I bought 4 pairs of baju kurung from one shop, then 3 pairs of (the most instant and convenient) tudung and a brooch from two other different sites.  Eek!

One of the sites was Zalora, which promised me a RM 25 discount if I signed up for their newsletter, so I did just that. Only, I didn't read the fineprint which states I needed to spend RM 125 for that discount to be in effect- not until I keyed in the discount code and this statement appeared in glowing red font. Grumbling slightly, I looked for something that could raise my cart total by at least another RM 13, which is also on discount because if I had to spend more it better give me even more savings! The brooch was slightly short of RM 20 and looked appealing, so I chose that and proceeded with my purchase.

When I checked my e-mail for the confirmation, I realized I wrote my postcode wrong.
Bugger me. So I sent them an e-mail lickety-split quoting my order number and the error and correction, and as soon as that was done and sent, I changed the address on my account.

Ugh. I have never written my address wrongly before. Lack of sleep must have engineered this silly blunder.

HAHA.

I must get used to writing stuff perfectly in the most extreme states of sleep deprivation because that will be my life in 2 months!

e-Housemen Will Be Online Soon!

What in the name of speed.

I have been religiously checking the e-Housemen site daily, to see the dates of the next registration. This has been happening since the SPA offer letters arrived.

And today, while I was out and about doing some errands, the people in my batch's female WhatsApp group started telling each other that the dates were announced on the site.

Thanks peeps!

Tadaa~! I left the flowchart just in case, and the header because proof.

According to a blog I've read on the internet of a fellow recent HO, the PTM will be held near your hospital of choice. Additionally, he mentioned that at the end of PTM he only had one full day of rest before he had to start working. Which means... Once I've chosen my hospital of choice, I have to start looking for accommodation and movers. 

Heh

It also occurred to me that I might not get the hospital I was aiming at. And I was aiming rather obsessively, since 3rd year.

Oh my God.

I mean, it's not like other hospitals haven't crossed my mind several times, but I was so preparing myself for THAT hospital.

And now I'm panicking again.

I should sleep because I have to go shopping tomorrow, and also because I drove a distance of over 100 km today and I haven't had coffee and it's 2 am and I'm sleepy.

Byeeee

The Journey has Begun

I have graduated from medical school for about 4 months now.

I went on a stage all dolled-up and received my symbolic scroll 2 months ago.

The actual MBBS degrees, two separate papers proclaiming my qualifications in Bahasa and English apiece, were collected a month ago.

My job offer letter as a UD41 Medical Officer (Pegawai Perubatan UD41) from the Public Services Commission of Malaysia (Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam, better known as SPA) arrived two weeks ago. Of course, the interviews were conducted way back in June- that was half a year ago- as arranged by my university for my entire batch. I doubt any of them failed their interviews; I doubt anyone on that day failed their interview. My interview questions were, for lack of a better word, deep.
No, I will not openly tell you what questions were asked of us (the interview was conducted in groups of 5 for us); you may ask me personally and I *may* divulge what I remembered. Not that it would be helpful for you, most likely, unless you got the exact person I got asking us most of the questions. Also that wouldn't be fun for you, would it?

And now I am waiting with bated breath for the Ministry of Health (MOH, or Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, KKM) to send me an email containing further instructions for me to register and then apply for my placement in local hospitals through the rather new system aptly called e-housemen.

What I do know that is 99% for sure is that our Program Transformasi Minda (PTM) will be conducted after Chinese New Year, which will fall on 8 February 2016. This means there is a chance that I will be celebrating my birthday in the middle of PTM. Oh sweet delight!

As if I needed another reminder that I am, on average, 2 years older than most of us fresh HOs-to-be.


Accompanying the agony of waiting is an excess of planning and prepping for just about everything that comes to mind. Rental houses searched, despite the fact that my hospital of choice is not guaranteed; reliable movers, ditto; MRCPCH dates and fees; shopping lists, including IKEA bookcases that will definitely be needed along with videos of their set-up. This is no joke! On and on the random searches come and go...

Then, inevitably, came the drawn-out search for information regarding housemanship, despite the many people I've already witnessed, talked to, and read about throughout the past six years. I have a general tendency for blogs as they are more personal than books, newspaper articles and guidelines. I came across many, of course, and with each of them undertones of malice; of malcontent. But mostly with a sprinkling of optimism. Every dark cloud, eh?

Therefore, of course I was drawn to document my own journey as a medical person here.
Preferably on a very, very long-term basis.


My journey as a student has been documented, rather patchily during clinical years, on another private blog account. Momentarily, Google could crawl over it- this I amended within my first year of medical school. It was rather unfair, seeing how I was drawn to my own university after having read several blogs from the existing students whom, incidentally, have by now long taken their blogs down, too.

I guess with the glut of doctors, as we are recently calling it, this blog will be one of thousands that the future generations will read. Many will laugh in delight at our frustrated rants. Oh, how they toiled! How they blathered and whined to no avail!
And to that I say: I hope my blatherings help you, you ingrate.

But it is in my sincerest hopes that I prevail this time around.
My hopes that this will be as informative to you as it is liberating to me.

Being a good House Officer means not having time to do this, you protest.
In fact I thought so too, but in one's life, reflection is always needed to improve.

And thus my (second) intro ends.

Introductory Post That Will, No Doubt, Be Lost Under the Mountain of Upcoming Posts

There are several ways in which I sort myself out.

One of the more prevalent ones throughout the years is writing; putting my thoughts down onto pen and paper, and then, as PC access grew more and more unlimited, I began typing them. They were mostly private, sometimes public. Mostly direct rants; occasionally, abstract prose.

Since then, I have had several blogs, most of which have been taken down for one reason or another. Mainly privacy issues... I tend to shy away from public scrutiny.

WELL NO LONGER!

I am now BACK!
Under WATCHFUL EYES!
Eyes whom I do not RECOGNIZE!

Ahem.

There's your taste of me.



At this very moment, whoever you are, you will realize that I am talking to you. Yes, you, the reader. I am figuratively looking at you from these words that I will have written and posted; conveying my message, no matter how nonsensical. But this will not be the norm.

This is where I rant.

I will try to keep it as private as possible, but this is by no means a guarantee of keeping myself hidden. Perhaps someone will identify me in the future and this blog will be renowned. People start to seek me out as I scuttle further and further into the depths of the hospital.

Who knows?
I don't.
Only time will tell us feeble human beings.

Please, for the love of God or whatever entity that you may believe in, be courteous and respectful of others' opinions. Correct me when you feel it is necessary, but do so in a discreet, gentle manner, and I will reciprocate.

After all, I am- and will always be- a mirror of your actions.
A chameleon, changing my camouflage to the hues of your actions.



So, in case the introductory section of the blog will change in the future:

Hi! I work for the government and may be found scuttling around in some hospital as the humanoid form of a somewhat highly educated roach. Of course, this roach is more pleasant than your usual roaches, albeit slightly less resilient. Oh, DO be careful; please don't take your footwear off, the floor is not sanitary. Wait, why are you aiming the slipper at m--